Don't die painfully! We will gain access to safe & legal assisted dying SOON if we write to our elected representatives (politicians). LINKS PROVIDED!

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

This is a good thread!

I agree that activism is lacking in SS, those assisted dying laws aren't going to change by themselves!

Perhaps a dedicated megathread or subforum for activism could be useful?

Does anyone know how to start a dedicated megathread?

 

[Loaf of bread]

Does anyone know how to start a dedicated megathread?

Perhaps could use this thread as the dedicated megathread, try messaging moderators to try get this thread stickied?

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

Perhaps could use this thread as the dedicated megathread, try messaging moderators to try get this thread stickied?

Done, we'll see how that goes, thanks!

 

[Dai]

There is absolutely no political incentive for any democracy or other voting-based system to ever indulge a lobby that runs on the platform of assisted dying. Think about it. Why on earth would anyone want to appeal to voters who are just going to remove themselves from your pool of supporters anyway?

The only way I could see this happening is if over time, conditions become even worse to the point where even the most optimistic of delusional prolifers is feeling utterly suicidally miserable on a daily basis. This reality may never come to pass unfortunately.

Maybe Government sets up a program which humanely puts the suffering out of their misery, then donating our organs to save people who actually want to live and who'd otherwise die on waiting lists.

Also, won't it benefit Governments to take out some of the population with AI taking more and more jobs, thus having to give out less Universal basic income?

Maybe I'm too simple minded/too low IQ and missing something here.

 

[cryone]

prehaps im being too pessimistic, but I highly doubt society is ready to implement euthanasia even for a select few, let alone everyone. There are near 0 politicians, at least in the US, that would support suicide because of how controversial it is. I feel like there are better methods of raising awareness than reaching out to ignorant politicians.

Maybe Government sets up a program which humanely puts the suffering out of their misery, then donating our organs to save people who actually want to live and who'd otherwise die on waiting lists.

Also, won't it benefit Governments to take out some of the population with AI taking more and more jobs, thus having to give out less Universal basic income?

well yes, this is theoretically good. but one of the primary arguments against legalized euthanasia is the "slippery slope argument," which essentially states that once we legalize euthanasia, people will normalize suicide, lose their sense of humanity, abandon ethics, and inch closer to committing actual murders for money or what not. While it could benefit the government economically to legalize euthanasia, the backlash would be crazy lol. absolutely can't argue economy > human lives

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Maybe Government sets up a program which humanely puts the suffering out of their misery, then donating our organs to save people who actually want to live and who'd otherwise die on waiting lists.

Also, won't it benefit Governments to take out some of the population with AI taking more and more jobs, thus having to give out less Universal basic income?

Maybe I'm too simple minded/too low IQ and missing something here.

Organ donation actually might be the best platform for euthanasia for the mentally ill but I wonder if big pharma might still profit from the current status quo of organ waiting lists somehow so maybe they won't allow it…

 

[Loaf of bread]

prehaps im being too pessimistic, but I highly doubt society is ready to implement euthanasia even for a select few, let alone everyone. There are near 0 politicians, at least in the US, that would support suicide because of how controversial it is. I feel like there are better methods of raising awareness than reaching out to ignorant politicians.

It's unlikely society would immediately go all in on this as it would be viewed as extremist.

Small gradual changes would be more likely to work

Contacting politicians would be worthwhile in that sense, perhaps be more "moderate" in communication. Maybe only discuss an opinion on relavent upcoming bills and news without mentioning how you envision an idealistic CTB system to work

Always support proposals in favour of progress, even if it's not quite to the extent of a perfect CTB utopia.

Any positive progress is good, it doesn't have to be all or nothing

 

[OnlyOneSolution]

This is a very political issue, just like abortion and many others. If all we do is vent about it amongst ourselves, the effectiveness will be far less than if we reach out to politicians outside of this forum. To be safe, just make sure that the letter is about legal assisted dying programs, and not about wanting to CTB in any other form or fashion.

I am glad I found your thread. I posted a discussion earlier entitled "Abortion Clinic? Why not Suicide Clinic?"

I believe an intelligent adult should be allowed to make an informed conscious choice about End of Life activities. Clean, safe, non-violent, guaranteed. It shouldn't require "assisted". The truth is that if we could simply obtain those substances legally and easily, we would not need assistance. People on Death Row are fighting to avoid the very substances we are begging to have access to.

The difficulty is that CTB is taboo in most civilized societies. People are afraid of death, so they cannot reconcile allowing a person to voluntarily seek it. Most politicians will simply shut it down as though it is their duty, concerned with offending voters. Will it happen in our lifetime?

I think the terminally and chronically ill likely will receive it fairly soon. The world is more secular now. We're all living to be older so- they'll end up being more money being taken out than is going in. I think there is more general public support for assisted suicide under those circumstances too.

The greater 'we' though? People with less serious illness. People with mental illness- even severe mental illness and definitely people with no illness- I reckon we're just hostages for now, until we find ourselves in the chronically/ terminally ill bracket.

Personally, I will absolutely support the right to die movement but, I can't see it helping me. I doubt I'll want to wait that long! Why should I wait decades for my life to get to a point where it is so intolerable, even doctors agree it's kinder to put me down? Sorry- no! My life belongs to me. I may just have to risk a painful, less reliable method to spare myself decades of struggle and pain to meet their requirements.

Assisted is slowly gaining ground but only for those who are in dire condition. To allow a healthy, able-bodied individual the same dignity is beyond most people's grasp.

Maybe Government sets up a program which humanely puts the suffering out of their misery, then donating our organs to save people who actually want to live and who'd otherwise die on waiting lists.

Also, won't it benefit Governments to take out some of the population with AI taking more and more jobs, thus having to give out less Universal basic income?

Maybe I'm too simple minded/too low IQ and missing something here.

Take all my organs...I won't need them. I will gladly trade my life for the many my body will benefit.

 

[SSJ88]

A fellow forum member has brought to my attention the fact that while discussion and venting in this forum is excellent, an even better way to push positive change much faster, is for us to write to our elected representatives.

This is a very political issue, just like abortion and many others. If all we do is vent about it amongst ourselves, the effectiveness will be far less than if we reach out to politicians outside of this forum. To be safe, just make sure that the letter is about legal assisted dying programs, and not about wanting to CTB in any other form or fashion.

I do believe however, that discussing the issue in this forum IS as well an incredibly powerful and effective way for us to get organized and communicate, which also reaches many guests who are not members of this forum.

The fear and paranoia most people have about speaking up on this issue (out in the real world), is the main reason why the situation is so bad for those of us out there who are suffering chronically.

Advocating and pushing politicians to allow safe and legal medically assisted dying, along with expanding current programs to include all adults who are suffering intolerantly, is a completely safe and legal thing to do. The reality is that this is a political issue, just like all the others, except that it dramatically affects our lives and what happens to us.

If we choose to be completely complacent, then we are probably going to have to put up with the way things are for quite a bit longer. If we speak up, and stand up for ourselves, major positive changes will happen much quicker.

The world is definitely heading in this direction anyway, as the world is on the edge of a major turning point with this issue, but these changes will happen much, much faster if more people speak up and write to their elected officials.

It also wouldn't hurt if there were a few rallies as well. Basically anything that brings attention to the issue in a legal and civilized manner is a very good thing. It's not going to take long for a decent push to make a huge difference.

If all the politicians hear is crickets on this issue, then they will feel no pressure to make any changes very quickly.

To quickly contact and write to your elected representatives (in English-speaking countries), just click on the links below (provided by Unspoken7612):

I've already done this. I haven't got any response yet.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

Maybe Government sets up a program which humanely puts the suffering out of their misery, then donating our organs to save people who actually want to live and who'd otherwise die on waiting lists.

Also, won't it benefit Governments to take out some of the population with AI taking more and more jobs, thus having to give out less Universal basic income?

Maybe I'm too simple minded/too low IQ and missing something here.

These are actually great ideas and thoughts! Organ donation makes perfect sense, and no one can argue the fact that AI (along with all other forms of automation) are definitely going to permanently eliminate more and more human jobs as time goes on. Universal basic income is the only real solution to this problem, but it's going to be very expensive for governments. If they had to support fewer people on UBI, then this would be much better economically for all societies.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

I am glad I found your thread. I posted a discussion earlier entitled "Abortion Clinic? Why not Suicide Clinic?"

I believe an intelligent adult should be allowed to make an informed conscious choice about End of Life activities. Clean, safe, non-violent, guaranteed. It shouldn't require "assisted". The truth is that if we could simply obtain those substances legally and easily, we would not need assistance. People on Death Row are fighting to avoid the very substances we are begging to have access to.

The difficulty is that CTB is taboo in most civilized societies. People are afraid of death, so they cannot reconcile allowing a person to voluntarily seek it. Most politicians will simply shut it down as though it is their duty, concerned with offending voters. Will it happen in our lifetime?

Assisted is slowly gaining ground but only for those who are in dire condition. To allow a healthy, able-bodied individual the same dignity is beyond most people's grasp.

Take all my organs...I won't need them. I will gladly trade my life for the many my body will benefit.

When you think about the fact that an unborn child has ZERO chance of either giving or not giving consent to being aborted, compared to a grown adult being fully capable of making a thoughtful decision, then you realize that suicide clinics should have existed long before abortion clinics.

The best political platform for a politician to use in order to win over voters, would be an anti-suicide platform with a MAID component. In other words they would be saying to voters, we will protect your children from committing dangerous acts of suicide, but we will do it by providing suicide clinics that will provide resources to encourage recovery as well (as an example). This will reduce overall suicide rates.

This exact same technique is being used in many countries to protect people from street drugs. Safe consumption facilities prevent disease from transmission, prevent overdoses, and also actually reduce consumption. A similar reality would occur if we introduced suicide clinics. There should not be a lot of them, just a few strategically located. If there are too many, then it could be viewed as encouraging people.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

The name "suicide clinic" might turn some people off, either because they are against abortion, or because it seems so convenient, that it could potentially encourage more people to end their life. (There would also have to be a cooling off period to ensure no impulse decisions are made). In principle the name makes perfect sense, but I'm thinking a better name might be "safe assisted dying & recovery resource facility", or something of that nature.

Then people would make the association between safe consumption facilities for street drugs, and a safe facility for legal assisted dying. This might help quite a bit politically, because safe injection sites have proven to be quite successful for those who use them, their families, and for their communities.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

I think that organ donation would be an excellent platform for politicians to use in order to greatly expand legal assisted dying programs in most countries.

When people do DIY suicide, there's no chance of that person's organs being donated to anyone. Yet there were millions of people who desperately need these organs and want to live.

Well organ donation is a very personal choice, which should be respected no matter what, there are many people who are suicidal, who would definitely love to donate their organs to people who desperately want them.

 

[nihilistic_dragon]

Sorry to rain on your parade but I don't think anything like that is gonna happen "soon". Probably not even in out lifetime. And even then, if euthanasia becomes more socially acceptable, it will only be available to the terminally ill/elderly as it is presently in countries where it is available. It will still take a couple hundred years I reckon until the society becomes open-minded enough to make it available for everyone desiring.

 

[ghost-shock]

This sounds like it was definitely written by an American .

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

I'm a Canadian actually, and in Canada, we already have euthanasia for people who are not terminally ill, and who are not elderly.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

The Netherlands has had a suicide clinic since 2012. They actually make house calls, and will come to people's homes. In Holland euthanasia is no longer a taboo subject, and they've had it for 20 years now, and not just for people who are terminally ill.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

Come on guys, it's just a bit of writing, we're doing that anyway in this forum!