Daxter_87
If my name is crossed out, hopefully I'm dead.
- May 28, 2023
- 400
Assisted Suicide - The Most Basic Human Right, Illegal Everywhere is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 
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. This essay may be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium or format without permission from the author, provided the original source is cited, it is not for profit, and the text remains unchanged.
Assisted Suicide - The Most Basic Human Right, Illegal Everywhere
"Dying is not a crime." ~ Jack Kevorkian
The first thing to consider is that countless individuals are trapped and forced to endure a daily hell with no hope of remission or even the slightest consolation. Their wounds may be too deep to heal, or they may be what most of the population dismiss as minor inconveniences that the sufferer rightfully wishes to avoid. Either way, they go through life reluctantly, and when we spit on such important concepts as consent, it speaks volumes about our supposedly pro-bodily autonomy society. According to Jack Kevorkian, an American doctor and prominent advocate of assisted suicide (n.d.), "if you don't have liberty and self-determination, you've got nothing, that's what this country is built on. And this is the ultimate self-determination, when you determine how and when you're going to die when you're suffering." Here, Dr Kevorkian argues that individual freedoms are the quintessence of civilisation, and that at the core of such liberties lies the power to decide whether we would rather live or die. The exercise of this right is indeed the ultimate expression of self-determination, and without it we are not free at all, for we have no choice but to continue to exist whether we like it or not. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that, as long as we keep prohibiting and criminalising physician-assisted suicide, people are prisoners of life. Hence, the need to legalise this service worldwide, without restrictions.
This is further evidenced by the fact that those who are desperate enough will resort to risky and violent do-it-yourself alternatives that can have disastrous consequences, either for themselves, their environment, or both. A botched suicide attempt can result in paralysis, permanent brain damage, or similar debilitating disabilities, and even if the suicidal person succeeds, they can not only traumatise those who find their body, but also cause catastrophic accidents. For example, someone may deliberately crash their car in order to take their own life - a phenomenon known as vehicular suicide - which can lead to a collision and the possible injury and death of other drivers. Cases such as these show that, when the pain is unbearable, some will do whatever it takes to end it, no matter how hasty their plan and no matter whether they endanger others. We need not condemn these people, however, because they are desperate and have no other option; the world has denied them every other option, starting with that of a dignified way out. It is clear from all of the above that, far from stopping determined people from killing themselves, banning the humane way, assisted dying, will only increase the likelihood of unnecessary and avoidable tragedies.
Besides, non-existence is the inescapable destination towards which we are all heading, no matter what preventive measures we take, and it cannot possibly be negative; on the contrary, it is beyond peaceful. We have never heard, nor will we ever hear, the dead moaning and begging to return to the realm of the living, as they cannot miss the so-called goods of life. Once they are gone, they enter a completely harmless state of being, or rather a non-state of being, in which all their sorrows, all their nagging aggravations vanish forever into blissful nothingness. Imagine the deepest sleep you have ever had as you read the following:
Non-existence, is what remains, in the absence of everything, (including: awareness,
consciousness, "i", "I", dimensions, realms, existence, etc).
-- Therefore, non-existence is not a state-of-being, where you are aware of the
void/nothingness/etc, (since awareness cannot exist in non-existence).
-- Indeed, non-existence is not a state-of-being of any kind, since it is beyond all of this,
and it's also beyond: enlightenment, awakening, self-realisation, liberation, non-duality, etc.
-- Indeed, it's so far beyond all of these games/nonsense, that it can't be compared to any
of it. (Ever Deeper Honesty, n.d., p. 9)
This book explains that non-existence does not fit into any of these categories because they imply something that exists in some form, and when one succumbs to oblivion, all such layers are revealed as superficial noise and fade away. The same is true of suffering, for it disappears the moment one does so; in fact, no longer being is the only true and lasting solution to both the individual and the collective predicament. Quite simply, it is impossible to describe death as a loss, since it is actually the other way round - it removes perceived pleasure and that which plagues you, and in turn leaves you at rest for eternity. Consequently, it is moral, not criminal, to help those who desire this outcome.
Ultimately, medical assistance in dying may be illegal and a taboo in most countries, but that does not change the dire necessity for it to be readily available to the entire population. It is the most basic service that people should have access to, because only then will they be able to escape the torture they are begrudgingly undergoing. It would also reduce the chances of individuals seriously hurting themselves and/or others when they can no longer tolerate the agony and do something reckless. Not to mention that no one can be harmed by a lethal injection that takes them to the other side, nor by the permanent tranquillity that follows. Allowing everyone to live on their own terms, as much or as little as they wish, is so essential, and yet so disregarded, that it should make us question if we really have a say in our lives, as we often hear.
References
Ever Deeper Honesty. (n.d.). Website: https://www.everdeeperhonesty.com/?m=1
Jack Kevorkian. (n.d.). AZQuotes.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023, from AZQuotes.com. Website: https://www.azquotes.com/quote/156947
Vehicular suicide. (n.d.). Wikipedia.org. Retrieved October 22, 2023, from Wikipedia.org. Website: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_suicide
