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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32880 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 10, 2022

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To quote 'A man for all seasons', 'Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!'

I feel like doing a minor victory lap, gruesome as it is, as I was one of those whom viewed euthanasia permissible, but the last thing I want is to have state-sponsored euthanasia in place. (And, yes, before you ask, I've yet to square that hole as to allow for such a thing. The world isn't perfect, sadly.)

Every time I see this advocated or hearing for Op's scenario, I can't help but envision myself at 75 going in for a minor medical procedure only to have the working professional suggest I commit state-sponsored self-die. I'd rather just skip that entire possibly, thanks.

Canada is unique among countries that have legalized euthanasia in permitting doctors to bring up the possibility to patients who haven't even mentioned it. In other countries, the patient must bring it up first, unprompted.

In other words, this particular failure mode is trivially preventable.

Every time I see this advocated or hearing for Op's scenario, I can't help but envision myself at 75 going in for a minor medical procedure only to have the working professional suggest I commit state-sponsored self-die

Can you expand on this? I don't really have any problem with this, I'd say no.

I can just wordlessly point at the utilization that medical euthanasia has gotten in Canada, as I feel that encapsulates the best example of 'this is what could happen.'

And, yes, my reply would be along the lines of 'Tell you what, Doc, you first, then I'll consider it.'

Flippant commentary aside, I don't want the above scenario to come to the fore because I believe, in order for us to get to this point, several things have gone horribly wrong. I don't want the option to be on the table to begin with. I don't want a scenario where I'm incommunicado for whatever reason, and the doctor kindly suggests to my family and/or next of kin 'Well, we could do this...'

I'm sure I could paint what-ifs till the day was over, and still not realize the worst of what could occur. Personally, I'd just rather nip the matter in the bud and make sure it could never happen to start.

FWIW, a good friend had a relative do this in Canada, and while painful, it seemed to be a comparatively "positive" experience. They were terminally ill with cancer, however. I still consider a good thing they didn't need to suffer longer than they chose to.

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