sozobe wrote:Also, that article about "Miswanting" in the NYT Magazine that made such a big impression on me has a bearing here -- what people think they WILL want and what they actually want when the time comes can be very, very different things. I have known and worked with many severely disabled people who thought, before they became disabled, that they would kill themselves if they ever got to that point. But they were functioning, productive, fulfilled people.
Amen. In fact, the only reason I came back to post was because Squeakz wrote: "Basiclly because i wouldnt want to kill myself if i had cancer, would you?"
Every indication is that until the decision time comes -- nobody knows what he or she will or will not do.
Quote:That said, I do think the choice should be available to those who really need it, and that there are such people.
I agree with that, too.
Quote:Frank, you know I share the whole boogeyman god thing, but I do think there is more to it than that. People are worried about abuses, regulation, etc.
Yeah...but...I think the "god doesn't want people to kill themselves" or "it is a sin" plays a much more important role in opposition to "assisted suicides", for instance.
People truly worried about "abuses and regulations" will argue for how the enabling legislation could be written -- how to keep any abuses down to an absolute minimum -- or perhaps to eliminate them.
People opposed because they see it as "going against god" -- don't want the law written no matter how cleverly crafted.
Or at least, that is my opinion.
We're on the same side on this one, Sozobe. Sorry about the "boogeyman" comment, but there are times when I simply must present it that way.
