Ah… the slippery slope. That wonderful fear generator that people so often use to preserve the status quo.
If we do x… what about y or z?
If we allow people to legally kill themselves… people might actually chose to do it. Oh no.
And what if they do so… for reasons I don’t approve…
Wait, why do they need my approval?
Sure when it comes to end of life issues, society is going to lay down rules and some times those rules will be bent or broken. But assisted suicide being illegal is not going to stop people from killing themselves for bad reasons. As a society we need to help each other make good choices.
Of course, maybe we won’t turn out like the Belgians or the Dutch. Maybe we will act with incredible humanity and restraint. Or maybe not. Personally, my hunch is that our ethical dilemmas are only beginning.
And we must avoid ethical dilemmas at all costs…
No. We might be called upon to make complicated and hard decisions sometimes, as opposed to sticking our heads in the sand, and ignoring the problem, but that is what being an adult is about.
Its about time we grew the hell up.
Margaret Wente is not qualified to discuss this topic.
what makes a person qualified?
Even though the author of that article is trying to show the possible outcomes of the slippery slope, none of the cases she speaks of fill me with any alarm. A valid case could be made for assisted death in all of these. Dementia, chronic depression, debilitating psychiatric conditions. Not everyone responds to the current available treatments. Who am I to judge whether or not someone else is suffering? Their life, their choice.
I’d rather not attend suicide parties. It appears to me that they are quite depressing. Unless of course, the person is rich and is raffling off his mercedes benz. Then I might be suspiciously curious.