should assisted suicide be on the ballot?
By TCampbell
@TCampbell (180)
United States
June 16, 2008 7:37pm CST
Should assisted suicide be a political issue or personal choice? How far should the government go in getting involved with the right to die choice? Or should they stay out of it completely? There is a campaign to put assisted suicide on the ballot in Washington state, should the voters be the ones to decide?
2 people like this
2 responses
@rodney850 (2145)
• United States
17 Jun 08
TCambell
I would like to take this up where LadyLuna left off! We, as a nation are already on the "slippery slope" LadyLuna so eloquently describes. When we gave the right to every pregnant woman in America to kill their babies if they so chose, we dove head first right down the "slope"!
Therefore, if we now choose to let doctors have the say-so as to when someone is suffering too much (no, I don't like suffering) then I ask you, where does it all end? How long will it be before we have bright individuals or groups with ideas like,"People today are living much to long after they reach the age of un-usefullness"? When will the question be, "Why don't we euthanize at 100 years of age or 90 or 80"?
I know this sounds extreme but 40 years ago America would have believed Roe V. Wade to be extreme also and guess what? It happened!
Every time we open one door down this convoluted hallway it leads to two or three more! What about down syndrome babies? Autistic children? Cerebral palsied? Need I go on?
I know a suffering loved one is hard to deal with emotionally and watching them suffer is almost unbearable but, given our technology today, how would you or anyone feel if you "helped" your mom, dad, sibling or spouse out of their suffering just to find out several days, weeks or months later that a cure had been discovered?
2 people like this
@TCampbell (180)
• United States
17 Jun 08
Hello rodney850. Excellent response as well. I have been forturate in my life not having a situation such as this to deal with but I have witnessed it in the lives of several people I know. I can't imagine the weight of such a decision yet I do believe it should be an indiviual's choice to end their life due to unimaginable suffering. But once again, I've never had to play that card, I only have an opinion. Take care.
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
18 Jun 08
What an excellent response, Sir Rodney!
Back in the early 1980s, my aunt (who has since then passed away) suffered a severe stroke in her early forties. She was in a non-responsive coma, on full life support, for more than three years. The prospect of 'pulling the plug' was raised many times during that three year time frame. My uncle consistently ruled out the option. Boy were they all glad for his insistence when she woke up one day, out of the clear blue! Her recovery was long and arduous, though she and my uncle shared many more happy years together.
Your response not only reminded me of my aunt, but also of the 1970s movie, "Logan's Run". Yup, I'd dare say it's very wise to avoid slippery slopes!
