mountain_tiger
Smash Champion
Link to original post: [drupal=3276]Suicide: a human right?[/drupal]
Note: this blog is not referring solely to euthanasia, although that does come under the banner. It also involves the idea of healthy people killing themselves.
There's something of a societal taboo around suicide. People that kill themselves are weak, selfish cowards, who don't think of anyone but themselves. And with all the suicide sites and phonelines there are, they almost always try to turn people away from suicide. It is seen as being unforgivable on a person's part, but is it really that bad?
In the 21st century, most developed nations acknowledge the concept of liberty, where people have the right to act according to their free will. People have the right to basic sanitation, education, not to be tortured, right to a fair trial etc. etc. But could this also include the right to end one's life as well? People are considered as having the right to own their own life and body. Surely in this case, ending it should be within this idea of 'self-ownership'.
Forget all the examples you've seen of people with terminal illnesses requesting to be killed for a second, and picture a different scenario. A woman in her mid-thirties with a successful career and a husband she loves (no children). But despite this she hates everything about herself: the way she thinks, how she acts, everything, but finds that when she takes antidepressants as prescribed, she feels that she can no longer be truly herself, and believes that life is not worth living. She tells her husband of her concerns, and he says that though he will mourn her departure, he respects her decision.
In this scenario, someone has come to a conclusion, through rational thought, that they do not want to live any longer. Would it still be considered unforgivable in this case? Obviously other actions should be taken first, with suicide remaining a last resort, but if, after various treatments lasting several years, you still hate life, then in that scenario it is acceptable. Article 5 in the Universal Declaration of Human Right states:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Focus on the first half of that sentence. For some people, life itself may be torture, and if a person does not want to go through with it, then that is within their human rights. In this sense, death may even be a comfort for them.
I'm not trying to cause offence, nor suggest that everyone gets up and kills themselves. Rather, the view on suicide should be a neutral one rather than an absolutist 'it's always wrong' view, because it fits into the rights that the UN has declared all humans are entitled to.
Note: this blog is not referring solely to euthanasia, although that does come under the banner. It also involves the idea of healthy people killing themselves.
There's something of a societal taboo around suicide. People that kill themselves are weak, selfish cowards, who don't think of anyone but themselves. And with all the suicide sites and phonelines there are, they almost always try to turn people away from suicide. It is seen as being unforgivable on a person's part, but is it really that bad?
In the 21st century, most developed nations acknowledge the concept of liberty, where people have the right to act according to their free will. People have the right to basic sanitation, education, not to be tortured, right to a fair trial etc. etc. But could this also include the right to end one's life as well? People are considered as having the right to own their own life and body. Surely in this case, ending it should be within this idea of 'self-ownership'.
Forget all the examples you've seen of people with terminal illnesses requesting to be killed for a second, and picture a different scenario. A woman in her mid-thirties with a successful career and a husband she loves (no children). But despite this she hates everything about herself: the way she thinks, how she acts, everything, but finds that when she takes antidepressants as prescribed, she feels that she can no longer be truly herself, and believes that life is not worth living. She tells her husband of her concerns, and he says that though he will mourn her departure, he respects her decision.
In this scenario, someone has come to a conclusion, through rational thought, that they do not want to live any longer. Would it still be considered unforgivable in this case? Obviously other actions should be taken first, with suicide remaining a last resort, but if, after various treatments lasting several years, you still hate life, then in that scenario it is acceptable. Article 5 in the Universal Declaration of Human Right states:
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Focus on the first half of that sentence. For some people, life itself may be torture, and if a person does not want to go through with it, then that is within their human rights. In this sense, death may even be a comfort for them.
I'm not trying to cause offence, nor suggest that everyone gets up and kills themselves. Rather, the view on suicide should be a neutral one rather than an absolutist 'it's always wrong' view, because it fits into the rights that the UN has declared all humans are entitled to.