Euthanasia

[SalixIncendium]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

 

[MikeF]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

As a point of clarification, is suicide and assisted suicide a subcategory of euthanizing human beings, or does the term euthenatisia only apply when others decide to euthanize someone irrespective of that someone's desire to continue living?

 

[SalixIncendium]

As a point of clarification, is suicide and assisted suicide a subcategory of euthanizing human beings, or does the term euthenatisia only apply when others decide to euthanize someone irrespective of that someone's desire to continue living?

Merriam-Webster defines euthanasia as the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.

While assisted suicide certainly qualifies as euthanasia, I'm not sure taking one's own life would qualify.

 

[Altfish]

I voted for the first option BUT must state that it is under strict regulation.

 

[Subduction Zone]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

I would say that when there is little to no chance of recovery from some sort of issue and living has become torture then euthanasia should be an option.

 

[Vinayaka]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

As you may know, Hinduism has always allowed for fasting to death in the case of terminal illness. It is a choice just to not eat. Since terminal illness is already there, all it does is hasten the natural process of the body. Similarly, some folks died because they had the inability to eat, or no caregiver could feed them.
Technology changed that with intravenous feeding. At the time the Vedas, or scriptures on it were written, there was no such thing as intravenous care. Now there is, as well as the ability to 'feed' a drug that will kill. So we're back to intuitive introspective thoughts, which is how the original ideas arose.

I personally think it's compassionate, under the right circumstances. But great reflection must be taken, and it should be a group decision, including the person themselves, if that's possible. (Write a 'living will', folks.)

 

[MikeF]

Merriam-Webster defines euthanasia as the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (such as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy.

While assisted suicide certainly qualifies as euthanasia, I'm not sure taking one's own life would qualify.

Hmmmmm, is not assisted suicide still suicide? The one who is being killed is making the decision to be killed.

It seems the criteria for euthanasia is hopelessly sick or injured. I think many could be persuaded that euthanasia is acceptable for some extreme example of suffering, but where shall the line be drawn? How extreme should the suffering be? Should people be forced to live with moderately extreme suffering and only permitted to die if experiencing severely extreme suffering?
Are there different types of suffering other than physical pain? Could a mental illness cause suffering? Could one be euthanized for that?
Can we truly know and judge another's level of suffering? This seems to be the hardest question to answer.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Hmmmmm, is not assisted suicide still suicide? The one who is being killed is making the decision to be killed.

Granted, but it still requires the will of another to carry it out. So it still qualifies as euthanasia.

It seems the criteria for euthanasia is hopelessly sick or injured. I think many could be persuaded that euthanasia is acceptable for some extreme example of suffering, but where shall the line be drawn? How extreme should the suffering be? Should people be forced to live with moderately extreme suffering and only permitted to die if experiencing severely extreme suffering?
Are there different types of suffering other than physical pain? Could a mental illness cause suffering? Could one be euthanized for that?

Untreatable mental illness could most certainly qualify as "hopelessly sick or injured."

Can we truly know and judge another's level of suffering? This seems to be the hardest question to answer.

Especially with one that is unable to communicate one's level of suffering.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

I feel like this quickly slides into huge gray areas, so I don't feel like a really cogent and applicable answer can be submitted

 

[SalixIncendium]

I feel like this quickly slides into huge gray areas, so I don't feel like a really cogent and applicable answer can be submitted

The OP accounts for these "gray areas" by asking what are acceptable circumstances.

 

[MikeF]

Granted, but it still requires the will of another to carry it out. So it still qualifies as euthanasia.

I find it interesting that you draw the line here as to whether a suicide to ends ones own suffering is euthanasia. It seems that euthanasia requires the permission or participation of someone other than yourself.
Is then suicide permissible or acceptable if it meets the same suffering criteria as euthanasia, or is suicide never permissible?

 

[amorphous_constellation]

Untreatable mental illness could most certainly qualify as "hopelessly sick or injured."

A statement like that, however, really implores you to unpack that further. For example, my youngest brother and I do have a permanent condition, which is the autistic condition. Reality, for both of us, is far more maze-like than it might be for you. In my view, dealing with it seems particularly to hinge on my sovereignty of perspective, as I decide to embrace it more than I decide to be horrified by it. Which I could allow myself to become. But people do live their entire lives with things like autism or schizophrenia etc. and seem to find ways to deal with such things, and sometimes go beyond them to generate productivity or find greater meaning

 

[MikeF]

A statement like that, however, really implores you to unpack that further. For example, my youngest brother and I do have a permanent condition, which is the autistic condition. Reality, for both of us, is far more maze-like than it might be for you. In my view, dealing with it seems particularly to hinge on my sovereignty of perspective, as I decide to embrace it more than I decide to be horrified by it. Which I could allow myself to become. But people do live their entire lives with things like autism or schizophrenia and seem to find ways to deal with such things, and sometimes go beyond them to generate productivity or find greater meaning

I think your examples fall under the treatable category or at least do not rise to the level of suffering that might qualify for euthanasia as postulated or impied in the OP.
It seems to come down to where one draws the line. Is there an untreatable mental illness that may cause suffering to qualify for euthanasia? I don't know.
I think it is less about what causes the suffering and more about how much one must endure suffering before euthanasia is permitted.

 

[Brian2]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

I believe human life is more sacred to God than animal or plant life. Our life comes from God and so we are made in the image of God.
None of us wants to see an animal suffer and none of us wants to see a fellow human suffer.
In Victoria the Government brought in an assisted dying Bill, a dying with dignity Bill, as they like to call it. It is available to people who have a terminal illness and who have applied a few times over a certain time frame and who have not been coerced.
It seems that going by other places the rules are slowly degraded to include others.
And really who can say if someone has been coerced or feels like a burden to others.
It's a hard call for me even if the Bible tells us not to kill.
It seems like an easy way to take care of things when pain relief is available these days.
Should it be illegal to suicide? Most of us would want to help someone who feels suicidal and not provide the means for them to suicide.
Should someone who feels this way expect others to assist them in their dying. Maybe that is not a problem when many have no problem with assisting in this way.
My wife has expressed the wish that I assist her dying if it came to that. I don't think I could refuse to allow her to dye if that is what she wants and has made a rational choice about it in her mind.
People do not want to see the suffering but when it comes to the law on the matter, it usually gets degraded and could end up over time to include many who just don't want to go on living.
Hmmm, tough question when it comes to making a law on it.
Maybe it should be a case of if people feel badly enough about it they will do it no matter what the law says.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Perhaps the OP can clearly define what he meant as euthanasia. I would consider assisted suicide to be a form of euthanasia. It was what I was thinking of when I wrote my post.

 

[MikeF]

Granted, but it still requires the will of another to carry it out. So it still qualifies as euthanasia.



Untreatable mental illness could most certainly qualify as "hopelessly sick or injured."



Especially with one that is unable to communicate one's level of suffering.

To play this out further, if euthanasia of human beings is acceptable or permissible under certain, specific conditions, is euthanasia permissible without the consent of the individual being euthanized?

 

[Suave]

What does your religion or worldview tell you about the practice of euthanasia?

If you select the first or second choice, or favor euthanasia under "other," what do you consider to be a right circumstance?

I suppose committing suicide isn't rocket science. Suicidal terminally ill troubled souls should just off themselves rather than burden others by euthanasia assistance

 

[ChristineM]

Both hubby and i are agreed that should one of us become intolerably in incurably ill that euthanasia is the way forward with a trip to Dignitas in Switzerland.

We obviously can't speak for anyone else but i voted #1

 

[Vinayaka]

Just for information, as to the current legal status, by country.
Legality of euthanasia - Wikipedia

 

[Suave]

Just for information, as to the current legal status, by country.
Legality of euthanasia - Wikipedia

I doubt laws against suicide or discretely performed euthanasia can be enforced.