festive1 Wrote:I agree with you to an extent about the ideal goal being to not kill people, but quality of life needs to be considered in that equation as well.
This is where I disagree. Just because quality is low does not mean the person's value has decreased. I am all for pain relief, and I can morally take away things helping the person live, but I cannot speed the dying process. Even if the person wants to die, we cannot kill them.
festive1 Wrote:However, giving them an injection to end their life is not (inhumane).
It is quicker and less painful, but even if a "mercy kill", its still a kill. "Letting die" allows the sequence of dying, which is already in motion, to continue. Removing medicine that the person requires is allowable for the reason that "they will never recover from the illness", but speeding the process of death is what makes me hesitate.
fr0d0 Wrote:I quite like the idea of old red Indians going out into the snow to die.
Ah, you speak of the cowards. I use this word not as an insult, but because I think they lack courage. Some people really want to live forever. This is ridiculous. Everyone dies, and people need to submit to reality. There are cases where parents bankrupt their children in order to live just a few months longer. This is not what I advocate at all. There is a courage necessary to accept death as the common fate of all. As for walking out into the snow to die, that is a way to dismiss others of the responsibility to care for you. It's not a statement of "I want to die", but it is a statement of "its time to die" and they let it happen naturally. This is something to be praised.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
