Do you have the courage to commit suicide in case if terminal disease?

[Catholic_Lady]

I'm sure I would probably want to, but I would try not to because of personal ethics. With that being said, I do think sticking it out until the very end would take more courage than ending it early.

Simply out of curiosity, is the personal ethics your individual ethic or is it because the Catholic church doesn't like it? Geez that sounds like I'm asking that in a snotty way but I swear I'm not.

Lol, it's ok I know you're not being snotty. It's both. The Church teaches to respect life from conception to natural death (including your own) on the premise that life is sacred, and I agree with that. It's a pretty fundamental part of my world view and outlook on life in general, and isn't a case of me just going along with it because it says so.

I do think it should be legal though, I just don't think it's morally good.

[Brian37]

As someone who does not believe to be exempt of any fate, I have always wondered if I would have the courage to commit suicide in case of a horrible disease such as terminal cancer or Alzheimer.

Suicide has always been seen as a bad thing, but is it when it is done based on a rational decision and not depression for example? As Schopenhauer said, to decide if you live or not is one of the few rights humans have.

What would you do in such situation? Wouls you bear the pain?

Having seen weeks of pain in my mom's slow decline, I can only say that I hope I either don't see it coming, or am so doped up I am out of it. 

I honestly cant say what I would do, because I am not in that situation right now. I do know in those weeks, my mom stuck around every moment she could to let me know she loved me, even if only by squeezing my thumb or nodding her head slightly or moving her eyes. She did squeeze my thumb that morning, but a about a couple hours before, she had that "death rattle" and wasn't even squeezing my thumb at that point. I looked at the nurse and asked her if there was anything they could do, and she said quite bluntly "It won't be much longer". 

I have said that though, in my own case, I DO NOT WANT extra measures to keep me alive if terminal. It would depend on the level of pain I guess. I can only say having watched her slow decline, if she had asked for assisted suicide, and it was legal in our state, I would have fully supported her decision, just like I supported her decision to not have any more surgery to try to fix the re infection. Everything in me screamed, "Keep trying", but still, I also understood she was simply tired of hospitals and surgery and not having her full quality of health and independence.

I'd say for me, as long as I can tolerate the pain, even if I know I am going to die, I would want to stick around. But I do think humans should have the option when they say the pain is becoming too much, they should have the option of  avoiding more pain.

[c172]

I am for expanding euthanasia/assisted suicide/whatever to include the physically disabled who rely on wheelchairs or crutches full time. Not just terminal illness.

That said, I am afraid of death, and while I count myself an atheist (I do not believe in God or anything else that is implied by Godbelief), I also believe it is impossible for anybody to be 100% sure of whether there is or isn't a god.

I kind of lost my train of thought just now, but I'd rather not ever force myself into an afterlife that no one knows anything about. Doing so just scares me.

[Brian37]

Simply out of curiosity, is the personal ethics your individual ethic or is it because the Catholic church doesn't like it? Geez that sounds like I'm asking that in a snotty way but I swear I'm not.

Lol, it's ok I know you're not being snotty. It's both. The Church teaches to respect life from conception to natural death (including your own) on the premise that life is sacred, and I agree with that. It's a pretty fundamental part of my world view and outlook on life in general, and isn't a case of me just going along with it because it says so.

I do think it should be legal though, I just don't think it's morally good.

Why is someone wanting to avoid pain, in a TERMINAL situation not moral?

I watched my mother die. If you think assisted suicide in terminal situations SHOULD be legal, then you should also see it as moral and compassionate.

We treat pets when terminal far more compassionately than we do humans. And I have put two pets down myself. Now, do not tell me my cat or my mom's dog knew what I was going to have done to them when I took them to the vet. Humans certainly have far more cognition and ability to decide for themselves.

CL "the Church" is basing it's position, not on medical reality, but old mythology.

I am glad you think it should be legal, but you are trying to have it both ways and sorry, having witnessed my mother die, you'd have to call me immoral for saying it should be legal which makes no sense since you also just said here it should be legal.

I really think you should reflect on the conflict in your own head between an ancient book, and modern morality and ethics.

I am not immoral for saying my mom should have had that option anymore than taking my cat or dog to be put down. They both were in extreme pain too when I did that. Why should my mom who MADE the decision not to do anything more not be allowed to avoid more pain?

[CapnAwesome]

If you do it with a firearm, the most surefire method, you end up as a gun violence stat.

[Brian37]

If you do it with a firearm, the most surefire method,  you end up as a gun violence stat.

Where the hell is this coming from? What does a non medical suicide with a firearm have to do with this subject?

I have had thoughts of suicide in my past and am DAMNED GLAD I have always been self aware as to not be around firearms.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Suicide means giving up. I don't do that.

[Macoleco]

Suicide means giving up. I don't do that.

Giving up on what sense? If it has no cure you just need to accept it.

[Minimalist]

Suicide means giving up. I don't do that.

I knew a guy who fought pancreatic cancer for 4 years and lost, of course.  The last two convinced me that it wasn't worth the effort.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Suicide means giving up. I don't do that.

Giving up on what sense? If it has no cure you just need to accept it.

Giving up in the sense that I didn't wait to see if somebody pulled a cure out of the hat.