I never said it was a decision for just anyone or an easy one. I said it’s a decision that requires context and nuance.
It’s like deciding who gets donated organs, when does a doctor declare brain death, when do you shut off the machines or give a large morphine dose, etc.
They’re hard decisions. They need to be made with care.
This implies that we need to make these decisions. The other decisions you listed are decisions that we need to make. But who receives medical decision in dying is not a decision we need to make. That’s a decision we choose to make.
You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose free will.
Deciding not to allow MAID is also deciding who lives and dies, and how. But denying people the right to die can be a cruelty all on its own. This is a decision we need to make. It’s healthcare, it’s quality of life, it’s managing suffering and pain with consent and thoughtfulness.
Deciding not to kill people is not deciding who dies. If this is really a decision we needed to make then it seems odd that nearly every other country in the would gets on fine without making it.
I can see you making a case that it’s merciful, but we also need to acknowledge the potential for abuse that does occur. Like the case article mentioned: the woman who applied for MAiD because she couldnt afford affordable housing accommodations that met her needs. Would this really a mercy killing, or just killing off our most vulnerable because we can’t be bothered to help them?
If you read my other comment in this thread it should be clear that I think MAID due to being poor is not acceptable at all. That’s a whole lot of failures all stacking up. It’s wrong and horrible.
Other countries do make these decisions. Usually they leave it to doctors to do in a sort of shadow and pretend it doesn’t happen and look the other way. There are other countries with MAID too.
Yes I know. I said nearly every other country does without it, but it is true that some countries do have similar programs.
If you read my other comment in this thread it should be clear that I think MAID due to being poor is not acceptable at all
In some ways then, you and I have very similar views. I guess one of our main differences is how much confidence we have in the current system to make it so that the poor are not disproportionately suffering as a consequence of MAiD. I don’t trust our current system to do that. Our current healthcare system is already so broken, especially for the mentally ill, so there’s a real danger that MAiD will be seen as a real alternative to proper healthcare. If we were in a place where we already had adequate care for people suffering from mental illnesses, then maybe we would be having a different discussion. But we are not there yet.
I never said it was a decision for just anyone or an easy one. I said it’s a decision that requires context and nuance.
It’s like deciding who gets donated organs, when does a doctor declare brain death, when do you shut off the machines or give a large morphine dose, etc.
They’re hard decisions. They need to be made with care.
This implies that we need to make these decisions. The other decisions you listed are decisions that we need to make. But who receives medical decision in dying is not a decision we need to make. That’s a decision we choose to make.
Deciding not to allow MAID is also deciding who lives and dies, and how. But denying people the right to die can be a cruelty all on its own. This is a decision we need to make. It’s healthcare, it’s quality of life, it’s managing suffering and pain with consent and thoughtfulness.
Deciding not to kill people is not deciding who dies. If this is really a decision we needed to make then it seems odd that nearly every other country in the would gets on fine without making it.
I can see you making a case that it’s merciful, but we also need to acknowledge the potential for abuse that does occur. Like the case article mentioned: the woman who applied for MAiD because she couldnt afford affordable housing accommodations that met her needs. Would this really a mercy killing, or just killing off our most vulnerable because we can’t be bothered to help them?
If you read my other comment in this thread it should be clear that I think MAID due to being poor is not acceptable at all. That’s a whole lot of failures all stacking up. It’s wrong and horrible.
Other countries do make these decisions. Usually they leave it to doctors to do in a sort of shadow and pretend it doesn’t happen and look the other way. There are other countries with MAID too.
Yes I know. I said nearly every other country does without it, but it is true that some countries do have similar programs.
In some ways then, you and I have very similar views. I guess one of our main differences is how much confidence we have in the current system to make it so that the poor are not disproportionately suffering as a consequence of MAiD. I don’t trust our current system to do that. Our current healthcare system is already so broken, especially for the mentally ill, so there’s a real danger that MAiD will be seen as a real alternative to proper healthcare. If we were in a place where we already had adequate care for people suffering from mental illnesses, then maybe we would be having a different discussion. But we are not there yet.
Yeah I agree with you.
We need to fix the issues and we’ve massively widened the gaps in the system.