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Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

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661–670 of 870 posts

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#661

My Canadian parents are in their 80's so naturally a lot of their friends of the same age are dying. And two of them have been via MAID. In one case, which was surprising to me, a man who had survived cancer - he was not terminal but certainly wasn't getting any better - elected to die via MAID after his wife died. She passed, he called his doctor and less than a week later he was also dead. He got a chance to visit…

you will also end up with situations where people in that age group might be pressured by their family to choose this option.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#662

I understand that there is probably some sort of fear of murder or untimely death by doctors "throwing up their hands" or pressure from inheritors to "move on" However the hard line makes no sense. In most places that human euthanasia is illegal no one has any problem killing animals because it is more merciful than allowing them to spend their final time suffering tremendously.

Put simply, animals are property. The idea of equating animals to people is not a widespread one, and relatively new besides.

You could apply the same logic to cannibalism. Given no-one has any problem killing and eating animals.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#663
post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are all excellent examples of how MAID should be used, I think the concerning thing is the widening of the eligibility criteria - especially when things like mental illness start to make you eligible. Like... If your illness makes you suicidal... Is offering assisted suicide REALLY the best we can do? That starts to feel a lot like "eghh you're too hard for society to care about... We'll just let you die". As h…

That concerns a small minority of cases, the vast majority is elderly dying people who want to keep their dignity. By steering the discussion to that minority, which even itself is still debatable, you risk flushing the child with the bath water.

By hesitating to discuss, you enable bureaucrats to suggest maid when they want to save money instead of treating a disability (which has already happened in the case of the Olympian).

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#664
post #530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At some point that net loss must overrule the individual's autonomy. I'm curious why you think of this as such a concrete fact. It is hard to understand that you would consider it your right to override such a core component of human autonomy (the choice to continue living) because they owe you/society something. If someone's suffering is so great (be it physical *or* mental) that they have reached a point where th…

> It is hard to understand that you would consider it your right to override such a core component of human autonomy (the choice to continue living) because they owe you/society something. I'm curious why you consider individualism to be the default state that should be assumed, while my very broad statement that there is some level of social responsibility that overrules individual autonomy at some point (where that…

I don't think you're off base by saying that people have a level of social responsibility to the people they live around. I think that can be argued perfectly logically.

What I'm not sure I agree with is that it translates to a responsibility to stay. Isn't someone who emigrates permanently away from their local community breaking the same social contract as someone who chooses medically assisted dying? Should that be prevented for the same reasons?

I can see the position that MAID is genuinely abdicating a true responsibility in some extreme cases, like a parent with minor children.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#665
post #590
post #583

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That concerns a small minority of cases, the vast majority is elderly dying people who want to keep their dignity. By steering the discussion to that minority, which even itself is still debatable, you risk flushing the child with the bath water.

The same logic applies to capital punishment

I don’t follow.

How does this apply to capital punishment?

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#666

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are all excellent examples of how MAID should be used, I think the concerning thing is the widening of the eligibility criteria - especially when things like mental illness start to make you eligible. Like... If your illness makes you suicidal... Is offering assisted suicide REALLY the best we can do? That starts to feel a lot like "eghh you're too hard for society to care about... We'll just let you die". As h…

Suicide is the ultimate “my body, my choice” issue, even more than abortion is. It’s monstrous to force someone with severe mental health problems to live if they don’t want to. I live an incredible life now that people envy, but I’ve had been through torturous mental health problems in the past. If I knew I had to face a year or two of my dark times again and I’d have 50 more years of my great life afterward I’m not…

They should do a study where they do fake maids (like catching a jumper) and then seeing if they regret living another month.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#667

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who decides on the duration of the waiting period? Why can’t people be in charge of their own lives? Especially people in their 80s, they have earned the right to agency. It reminds me of OB/GYN providers that deny childless women sterilization procedures – even when they are in their 30s – ostensibly on the risk that the woman might change their mind about having children. Some people know things for certain and the…

Everyone should be in charge of their own lives. Except doctors, who should shut the fuck up and do as their told. And people with moral and religious objections who should shut the fuck up and keep paying for this. And people who’d like to sell a kidney, who should shut the fuck up and understand that it’ll be taken after they’re dead when it’s of no value to them.

Nobody's forcing people to be doctors.

Nobody's forcing people with religious or moral objections to commit suicide. If they object to paying for others to do so, then they can stand with the people who have similar objections to paying for a military. Or with the people wondering why the churches those religions people belong to aren't paying taxes.

I don't even know where you're going with that kidney comment.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#668
post #618

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't regret dying. Let people do what they want.

Doctors are humans too though and you can't just ask them to gas and mutilate perfectly healthy people so easily. Not what they signed up for.

And they don't have to. But the ones who are ok with it should be able to.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#669

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't regret dying. Let people do what they want.

Oh, you absolutely can.

It's funny you say that, because I OD'd about 5 years ago and it reinforced my non-fear of death. It's fine. You're just gone.

Re: Assisted dying now accounts for one in 20 Canada deaths

#670

My Canadian parents are in their 80's so naturally a lot of their friends of the same age are dying. And two of them have been via MAID. In one case, which was surprising to me, a man who had survived cancer - he was not terminal but certainly wasn't getting any better - elected to die via MAID after his wife died. She passed, he called his doctor and less than a week later he was also dead. He got a chance to visit…

It's not at all surprising to me! I fully expect to want to euthanise myself once I'm done with life (and I'm going to be pretty upset if it's not an option for me when it gets to that point). People tell me I'll change my mind (perhaps similarly to how people treat people who say they don't want kids). But I doubt I will. I've seen lot's of older people (and people who's lives are not good) still want this when it c…

It’s always an option. It’s just not always an option to force someone to help you, which is what maid is.
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