Terry Pratchett calls for assisted suicide legalisation

[capncnut]

I know we've covered this kind of topic before but I thought it was worth covering again. Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett will appear on BBC1 tonight calling for assisted suicide to be legalised for the terminally ill.

Click (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1247520/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-assisted-suicide-legalised.html) for article.

Also, he has offered himself up to be the test case if such a thing was allowed. A survey was conducted for the Panorama television show and the results apparently show a clear majority of Britons were in support of assisted suicide. Do we have any thoughts on this?

[MinionZombie]

Similar to abortion, I think that obstacles should be removed for those who wish to make one of the hardest choices you could ever make.

People shouldn't be forced to live in suffering if they don't wish to - it's their life, and it's their's to take if they want to.

This wouldn't mean people would be forced to kill themselves - what utter nonsense - it simply provides the support for those who, of their own volition (and living wills), want to end their pain and suffering.

If someone doesn't want to take their own life in such a situation - fine and dandy - it's called personal choice, and the views of such people shouldn't force the hand of those with a different wish in this situation (and indeed, same goes in my view, for abortion).

[SymphonicX]

The problem is, if legalised without proper legislation then we could see a whole bunch of companies using their free market credentials to pressurise people to use their service. With something like a suicide booth, there will be an incentive created whereby people could profit from death. Even with public services this could happen as people fight to keep their jobs, any number of skewed practises could evolve that means people could end their lives prematurely.

As long as it was entirely legislated properly and incentives were capped and the service was run entirely by non-profit, government run organisations then there shouldn't be a problem. It's a tricky situation though because essentially there would be an industry created out of killing people, which has worked so far in terms of abortion, but is a different kettle of fish in this matter.

[MinionZombie]

Naturally it should be properly legislated for, and strongly so. It needs to be tightly controlled, but also organised in a very simple manner.

Essentially - you apply for assisted suicide, your case is examined thoroughly and immediately (I can't imagine there'd be a flood of cases), and then the support for carrying out the assisted suicide is provided promptly, and under controlled, informed circumstances.

It'd be important not to turn it into a big deal, or a bizarre big industry, nor a bloated bureaucratic nightmare of pencil pushing do-nothings getting in the way.

[SymphonicX]

Naturally it should be properly legislated for, and strongly so. It needs to be tightly controlled, but also organised in a very simple manner.

Essentially - you apply for assisted suicide, your case is examined thoroughly and immediately (I can't imagine there'd be a flood of cases), and then the support for carrying out the assisted suicide is provided promptly, and under controlled, informed circumstances.

It'd be important not to turn it into a big deal, or a bizarre big industry, nor a bloated bureaucratic nightmare of pencil pushing do-nothings getting in the way.

Yep, all of which makes this appearing in our lives during the next government pretty impossible...

[p2501]

agreed, so long as it's regulated by medical personel that can address each case and the previous diagnosis(s) then i'm all for it. The process needs to be credible and bulletproof. It does concern me how much the mental health asshats are jockeying to be on the input help desk for this, considering how much of modern psycho therapy is just absolute shite, but that's another arguement entirely.

unfortunately, the "we need to save you from yourself" chistian brigade will jump all over this as the next big pundit point/way to pass the collection plates. And it'll more than likely quagmire in the U.S. So hopefully sometime in 2250 we might get on the same page with where you guys are right now.