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

[Edwardo Piet]

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.

When I attempted suicide back when I was 22 (I'm 29 now, you are later this year, as you mentioned, time flies doesn't it?)... a mental health worker on the ward I was confined to not only mentioned that they were Catholic, but they also told me that according to Catholicism suicide is the ultimate sin and that I was damned for an eternal life in hell. I asked "Definitely? That's it according to you? Black and white?" and they said "Well there is nuance but basically yes in most cases eternal life in hell. According to Catholicism an attempt for suicide *is* the ultimate sin. Perhaps the fact you are mentally ill will mean that God will be extra sympathetic because God's goodness is absolute and you will colide with God's grace, but yes the basic position is that suicide is the ultimate sin and you are condemned to eternal damnation. Not according to my own personal position as a mental health worker, you understand, but because of my religion."

They then grinned. I told them to fuck off. I literally said to them "Fuck off."

Fuck Catholicism, fuck anti-condom cults (effectively on moral grounds that's what Catholicism basically is) and I don't care what anyone thinks.

[Rev. Rye]

I can’t be sure until I have to deal with it in reality, but I honestly suspect I would kill myself in such a situation. I saw my grandmother slowly dying over two or three years and I know I don’t want to subject myself to all that if the best I’m going to hope for is ending up dying anyway.

I’d think of something like this,





But I don’t have a gun, and while I suppose the Illinois black market might make it fairly easy to get one, there’s still one question: what if I miss? That’s how Arseface ended up the way he did in Preacher.

[Fireball]

I knew a guy who attempted to kill himself with a pistol but aimed it wrong and just gave himself a horrendous hare lip. A few years later, he did the exhaust in a hose into his van trick with better effect. I'm not sure what was bothering him; I only knew him as someone who worked at the school I taught at, and didn't interface with him much.

Watching my brother one year younger than I waste away in hospice with only palliative care is a scene I do not care to go through with my family. Once I'm convinced I'm terminal, it'll be a Nitrogen Exit Bag for me. When I did the search, the first two websites to pop up were for suicide hot lines. I have no intention of committing said act unless I were discovered to be in the terminal phase of an excruciatingly painful ailment. I've lived through three surgeries because of a ruptured appendix, so I know what excruciating pain is like.

[AFTT47]

It would depend on the disease. One non-terminal illness I would definitely off myself for is blindness.

[vorlon13]

I absolutely will not second guess anyone I knew that committed suicide during the AIDS era. No one ever asked me to be with them when they did it (as I recall, all the ones I knew did it while alone), no one asked me beforehand my opinion on it, and no one asked for advice on how to do it.

At one point I was given some instructions on a palliative measure that 'might' have been lethal, but the occasion to employ it never arose. Thank you Dennis for not asking . . .

[Whateverist]

Courage implies it is the right but difficult and painful things to do.   people who elect not to commit suicide may not have made the choice out of lack of courage to face the pain and difficulty in doing it.

That's my take as well but the one thing you can be sure of is that it won't be simple to make those determinations, well unless you're Beccs maybe.  If it is likely that at some point you'd need the help of others to get it done, you'd have to assess whether you can rely on them and whether you'd want to put that on them.

I wouldn't be in any damned hurry to get it done, that's for sure.  It could be important to act while you still can and that could factor into the decision.  But some pain would be worth paying just to exist.  Past some point, it wouldn't be worth it any longer.  At that point I don't think it would hard to opt out, and of course at some point I'm sure I would.

[Macoleco]

It would depend on the disease. One non-terminal illness I would definitely off myself for is blindness.

I find that a little extreme.

I agree with without sight the quality of my life would significantly drop, but I dont know if I would kill myself.

[Silver]

I like to think I could.

However, I have actually sliced my wrists in the past, I have the scars to prove it. Could I attempt to take my own life again...not certain, very unlikely.

[chimp3]

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?

I would want to become a burden to as many people as possible. Creates jobs!

[The Valkyrie]

I already have a *secret* agreement with a couple of colleagues in case of such an event.

If any of us get sick to such a point we will help tge other end it.

That sounds impressive. It is already hard to find one person who agrees to that sort of thing, let alone two.

If all else fails, hopefully I'll still have access to the drugs I need myself.