In Euthanasia, when the person whose life is ended explicitly consents to it, does that remove the criminality of the act?
In Euthanasia, when the person whose life is ended explicitly consents to
it, does that remove the criminality of the act? As Hamlet's father's
ghost says
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd;
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhous'led, disappointed, unanel'd,815
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.
Is the shocking lack of fairness in murder the reason why societies seek to >punish it?
"S K" wrote in message >news:49fe890f-fe33-4d0f-b887-99e0e38b08d1n@googlegroups.com...
In Euthanasia, when the person whose life is ended explicitly consents to >>it, does that remove the criminality of the act? As Hamlet's father's >>ghost says
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd;
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhous'led, disappointed, unanel'd,815
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.
Is the shocking lack of fairness in murder the reason why societies seek to >>punish it?
In the US, at least, our society (and therefore our legal system) makes the >assumption that a person who tries to commit suicide probably has some kind >of mental illness. If you are caught trying to kill yourself, you will most >likely be taken to a mental health facility and put under observation. If >you are caught trying to assist another person in taking their life, you are >generally deemed to be attacking an innocent person.
But gradually I learned, I think, that that is not the reason. I think
that the goal for many or most is truly to prevent suicide, for
religious or moral reasons. ....
I'm against suicide too, for religious reasons, but if I were in serious >relentless or sufficiently recurring pain, I'm sure I would change my
mind. And I don't expect others, alrready in serious relentless or
recurring pain** to obey those laws. ...
I would hope to get this settled when I still have the strength to take
the pills from the bottle and lift the glass of water to my mouth,
myself. But what if I don't?
The Final Exit Network, as its name suggests, helps people commit
suicide. They have extensive protocols to ensure that the people who
ask for their help really are facing an inevitable and miserable
death, and not just depressed or angry. They've faced a fair amount of
legal trouble, but so far their processes have been careful enough
that there's been no convictions. Your question about what if someone
is too weak to take that last action on their own is a really tough
one.
In misc.legal.moderated, on Sun, 15 Jan 2023 06:52:10 -0800 (PST),
"Rick" <rick@nospam.com> wrote:
"S K" wrote in message >>news:49fe890f-fe33-4d0f-b887-99e0e38b08d1n@googlegroups.com...
In Euthanasia, when the person whose life is ended explicitly consents to >>>it, does that remove the criminality of the act? As Hamlet's father's >>>ghost says
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd;
Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
Unhous'led, disappointed, unanel'd,815
No reckoning made, but sent to my account
With all my imperfections on my head.
Is the shocking lack of fairness in murder the reason why societies seek >>>to
punish it?
In the US, at least, our society (and therefore our legal system) makes
the
assumption that a person who tries to commit suicide probably has some
kind
of mental illness. If you are caught trying to kill yourself, you will >>most
likely be taken to a mental health facility and put under observation. If >>you are caught trying to assist another person in taking their life, you >>are
generally deemed to be attacking an innocent person.
As a child, I watched detective shows and crime shows on tv, and I came
to the conclusion that laws against suicide were meant to prevent murder >disguised as suicide, or allow investigation of what might be murder.
But gradually I learned, I think, that that is not the reason. I think
that the goal for many or most is truly to prevent suicide, for
religious or moral reasons. Christianity and Judaism both prohibit it,
even when one is rational (maybe with different rationales?), but Jews
didn't have much influence when these laws began, so some branch of >Christians must pushed for such laws. That in itself doesn't make it a >religious law or a violation of church and state, since most US laws can
be found in some relgion practiced by Americans.
The Final Exit Network, as its name suggests, helps people commitSpeaking of Final Exit, I came across that book at a yard sale or some
place very cheap, and I like to have unusual or hard to find resources
at hand, so I bought it.
But when I was depressed, for good reason, and now too, I'm afraid to
read it, for fear it will sound too easy, that things will not go wrong.
As it stands now, all the normal ways seem to have the risk of not
succeeding and making one's condition worse. CO can damage one's mind, jumping out a window can leave one with a broken back. I can't think of
one that is risk free and I don't want to know.
So it's buried somwhere under a foot of other junk. I should clean up my house or I'll get depressed about that!
But when I was depressed, for good reason, and now too, I'm afraid to
read it, for fear it will sound too easy, that things will not go wrong.
As it stands now, all the normal ways seem to have the risk of not
succeeding and making one's condition worse. CO can damage one's mind, >jumping out a window can leave one with a broken back. I can't think of
one that is risk free and I don't want to know.
I don't think the laws on this are religion based. You are right that Christianity and Judaism both prohibit suicide, but they also prohibit
a lot of things that are not illegal, like not believing in God. I
think the laws are more based on the theory that no mentally healthy
person would want to take their life, and that anyone who tries to
take their life is by definition mentally ill. And our society is at
least partially based on wanting to help and protect people who are
mentally ill.
According to micky <misc07@fmguy.com>:
But when I was depressed, for good reason, and now too, I'm afraid to
read it, for fear it will sound too easy, that things will not go wrong.
As it stands now, all the normal ways seem to have the risk of not
succeeding and making one's condition worse. CO can damage one's mind,
jumping out a window can leave one with a broken back. I can't think of
one that is risk free and I don't want to know.
If you don't have a gun, killing yourself is quite hard. So we all hope you don't.
On 1/19/2023 1:11 PM, John Levine wrote:
According to micky <misc07@fmguy.com>:Let's close off the discussion on how to commit suicide
But when I was depressed, for good reason, and now too, I'm afraid to
read it, for fear it will sound too easy, that things will not go
wrong.
As it stands now, all the normal ways seem to have the risk of not
succeeding and making one's condition worse. CO can damage one's
mind,
jumping out a window can leave one with a broken back. I can't think
of one that is risk free and I don't want to know.
If you don't have a gun, killing yourself is quite hard. So we all
hope you don't.
Indeed. Otherwise this forum could be banned in the UK. (That's if anyone
in the UK authorities knows of usenet anymore. I suspect if it was
explained they'd think it was new.)
Jethro_uk <jethro_uk@hotmailbin.com> wrote:
Indeed. Otherwise this forum could be banned in the UK. (That's if
anyone in the UK authorities knows of usenet anymore. I suspect if
it was explained they'd think it was new.)
We should do something to make it popular again. It is by far the
best method for internet conversation. I had a list of 18 reason
that it was better than the web. but no one makes money on it so
no one promotes it.
So maybe we should do just what you hint at. Tell them it's new
and maybe they'll flock to it.
Some other method could conceivably have the advantages of usenet
and a couple more good features, but none does.
Indeed. Otherwise this forum could be banned in the UK. (That's if anyone >>in the UK authorities knows of usenet anymore. I suspect if it was >>explained they'd think it was new.)
We should do something to make it popular again. ...
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