Do You Have the Right to Take Your Own Life?

[Slash]

I know this can be a pretty scetchy topic, but what do you think? Do we as humans have the right to take our own life if we so choose? After the recent suicide attempt of Montel Williams, I wonder. Personally, I think you have this right. Its your life, do what you want with it if it includes this. Just my thoughts. What do you think?

 

[DaxCobra]

Definitally.

Although, I guess if you have debts and stuff then it gets a bit complicated on weather it should be 'allowed'...

Edit: After thinking some more, I really don't know. It could be extremely selfish if you have others to look after, or if the person who kills themself is in trouble with the law and justice isn't given..

I guess it depends on the situation. For example, my Grandma had to have both her legs amputated, and she had extreme arthritis everywhere in her body. Unfortunatly she passed away 3 years ago now and she lived with it for many years. I think suicide would be justified in that situation.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Probably, but, depending on who you leave behind, it might make you a complete 🤬

 

[Danoff]

Yes.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Oh yes, you have. In fact, you have two options:

a) there's an afterlife - by definition you can't really take your own life anyway, it'll just change. Whatever happens is not a "rights" problem.

b) There's no afterlife - Yeah, I guess you may dispose of your organic self as you please. Try to not make an awful mess about it which is another way of saying, "do close the door on your way out of here."

 

[Zenith]

Yes, but it's wildly irresponsible, cowardly, and selfish.

This assumes suicide.

 

[Keef]

Yes, but it's wildly irresponsible, cowardly, and selfish.

It could be argued that preventing someone from taking their own life because it would make you sad is also selfish.

 

[MatskiMonk]

It could be argued that preventing someone from taking their own life because it would make you sad is also selfish.

You can't really prevent someone from committing suicide... the act of suicide is more selfish, than the hope that someone won't kill themselves, the latter doesn't actually change anything, the former does, it changes everything.

 

[Exorcet]

Yes.

Yes, but it's wildly irresponsible, cowardly, and selfish.

This assumes suicide.

Why?

The only wrong I can attribute to suicide is not considering the effect of your death on other people, and by this I mean things like signing a contract in which you promise to do something, but then can't because you killed yourself.

The emotional suffering that you might cause others is something else to consider, by they don't have the right to cause you to suffer by preventing your suicide. If you have your sense and you want to die, go ahead.

Now if you were talking about how disruptive it is to just commit suicide out of nowhere, I can agree with that. If you're going to kill yourself, you should do things like have credit cards canceled, and also notify the police (probably have them watch it too under controlled circumstances so that no one could fake the call and then use it as a cover for murder). Basically, euthanasia for the healthy.

Calling it cowardly is ridiculous though.

 

[lbsf1]

Yes I believe people should be allowed to commit suicide, it is your own body and you have the right to do what you want (in the same way I believe that people should be allowed to take drugs if that is what they want.). I do see how it may upset others, however if that person really does care then I feel that they should respect the wishes of the person committing suicide.

 

[Liquid]

Yes.

Agreed. It's your life.

 

[DaxCobra]

Yes, but it's wildly irresponsible, cowardly, and selfish.

This assumes suicide.

So, if someone was suffering from a disease that made their life a living hell, it would make them cowardly to end their own life?

 

[Rykon Zero]

Right implies it's possible to take it away from you.

Honestly I'd like to see someone try to take that away from me, I can think up a ton of different ways to off myself.

 

[BobK]

Yes.

 

[Dotini]

Gee whiz, everyone is saying yes!

But what if you were legally obligated to provide goods or a service, such as in a contract or obligation legally taken? What if you were an airline pilot, a bus driver, a teacher or a soldier, sailor or marine? What if you were a wife or a husband with small children? What if you attempted to immolate yourself on the White House lawn in an act of protest? If you attempted to take your own life in lieu of fulfilling your legally contracted obligations, would you not be liable for civil or criminal actions against you?

Devil's avocado,
Steve

 

[MatskiMonk]

I do see how it may upset others, however if that person really does care then I feel that they should respect the wishes of the person committing suicide.

So it's okay for the young father or two children (aged 7 and 8), to kill himself because his girlfriend cheated on him?

 

[Patrick]

Yes.

 

[TriumphTT900]

I personally think most suicide is selfish/pitiful. Suicide to prevent suffering (terminal illness, close to death, slowly dying painfully, etc.) can be justified to me. Regardless of morality though, everyone has the right to suicide.. no one can really stop you because there are so many ways to do it. I'm not saying suicide is good or anything.. its just that trying to control suicide is like trying to control people breathing, seeing, walking, etc.

 

[Keef]

...and also notify the police (probably have them watch it too under controlled circumstances so that no one could fake the call and then use it as a cover for murder). Basically, euthanasia for the healthy.

It is effectively illegal to kill oneself, if you've never paid attention to the news. Debtors can't collect and the IRS can't tax a person if they're dead, so the lot of them will do everything they can to keep you alive and medicate you sane enough to pay your bills. Suicidal people are virtually always labelled insane because apparently there is never any logical situation where sacrificing yourself would benefit others except in combat, something which the government actually advertises on TV and considers honorable. Doctors aren't even allowed to pull the plug on terminally ill patients begging for death without a sign-off from "sane" guardians.

 

[Sach]

I guess it's the ultimate expression of free will. Once you've done it, does it really matter if you had the 'right' to or not?

 

[PeterJB]

People have a right to but it's an incredibly selfish and condemnable act to do. My neighbour's 16 year-old daughter committed suicide 6 months ago, I've seen how hurtful it is to the loved ones they're leaving behind.

 

[dylansan]

Keep in mind a lot of people who commit suicide have emotional or mental issues which cloud or completely mess up their judgement. People absolutely have the right to take their life, but what we should really be concerned about is helping people who feel like they need to end their life, and giving them alternate solutions so they don't have to resort to the worst.

 

[Danoff]

But what if you were legally obligated to provide goods or a service, such as in a contract or obligation legally taken? What if you were an airline pilot, a bus driver, a teacher or a soldier, sailor or marine? What if you were a wife or a husband with small children? What if you attempted to immolate yourself on the White House lawn in an act of protest? If you attempted to take your own life in lieu of fulfilling your legally contracted obligations, would you not be liable for civil or criminal actions against you?

...against your estate yes. Your estate would likely owe some financial penalty for unfulfilled contractual obligations. Keep in mind that torching yourself on the white house lawn is property damage and trespassing, so you could be incarcerated for that as well.

Speaking of incarceration, we prevent prisoners from killing themselves... why?

 

[Keef]

Speaking of incarceration, we prevent prisoners from killing themselves... why?

It would probably spark anti-authority sentiment among the people at large, which is fine by me but not fine for a government that is interested in maintaining power.

 

[Villain]

Whether you have the right or not, it's not like you can face an Earthly consequence if you go through with it.

 

[Azuremen]

Yes.

Agreed, though you'd forfeit any state and insurance type benefits for that stuff.

Which I know in your ideal government, wouldn't be much of an issue anyhow.

 

[wfooshee]

Yes, no, maybe?

You do not have the right to off yourself because your classmates are bullies, or your mom died, or other forms of depression. I'm assuming that depression-induced suicide is not the point of the question. Then again, maybe it's natural selection. If you can't face words, much less sticks and stones, what good are you to society?

Pain and suffering during terminal illness, and just getting it over with, I can understand the desire to say, "Make it stop! You'd shoot me if I were a horse, wouldn't you?" Now we're talking assisted suicide, because someone in that condition is generally unable to fulfill the desire themselves. But that decision is obviously irreversible, and having the medical community try to set standards for when it's OK and when it's not only invites situations where maybe beds are needed, and this particular patient, while not 100% terminal, does not have a good prognosis, and maybe is uninsured, so the doctor will "rule" that euthenasia is appropriate, in reality as an economic consideration rather than a medical one. Now, we all trust our doctors, don't we???? But that much???

Right now, the best we have for those conditions is a DNR, do-not-resuscitate. Pain meds as needed for maximum possible comfort while everyone waits, as was the situation with my dad when he passed.

The "noble" suicide, the "honorable way out" of the sort you read about in Oriental stories, a defeated warlord falling on his sword, a captured criminal avoiding prosecution and punishment. That's just easy outs for people that should be facing the music.

 

[BobbyBRAKEaNek]

Yes,

How in the hell can that be taken away.

 

[TheBook]

Gee whiz, everyone is saying yes!

But what if you were legally obligated to provide goods or a service, such as in a contract or obligation legally taken? If you attempted to take your own life in lieu of fulfilling your legally contracted obligations, would you not be liable for civil or criminal actions against you?

Devil's avocado,
Steve

The only problem with this train of thought is, how can you be liable for something when you're dead? Taking that one step further, who then fulfills the obligation that you entered?

 

[Crushed]

I know this can be a pretty scetchy topic, but what do you think? Do we as humans have the right to take our own life if we so choose? After the recent suicide attempt of Montel Williams, I wonder. Personally, I think you have this right. Its your life, do what you want with it if it includes this. Just my thoughts. What do you think?

Rights? By religion? By law?