Discussion if someone has a illness or injury or mental health condition that does not have a cure you should be allowed the right to die

[Darkover]

Is preserving life always the most ethical goal, or is respecting the individual's judgment about their own suffering more humane

If life is only preserved for its own sake, without regard for its quality, is it truly living—or merely existing in a state of prolonged suffering?

When someone's life has deteriorated to the point where:

They are in constant physical or mental pain,

They have lost autonomy, identity, or dignity,

They can no longer do the things that made life meaningful to them,

And there is no hope for improvement or cure,

Then forcing them to remain alive can feel like a kind of cruel imprisonment rather than compassion.

We are often told that life is sacred. But sacred to whom? If the person living that life no longer sees it as bearable, is it ethical for society to override their judgment? Is it compassionate to demand that they continue to endure, simply to uphold a principle others believe in?

Preserving life at all costs can become a form of neglect—neglecting the person's pain, their voice, their agency. When society prioritizes existence over experience, it risks turning people into prisoners of their own bodies and minds.

Many people—especially those suffering from treatment-resistant mental illness, degenerative diseases, chronic pain, or traumatic injury—live in this limbo. They are kept alive, but not helped to live.

A life without quality—without peace, meaning, connection, or hope—can feel like a slow form of dying. And to deny someone the option to choose death in such circumstances is to say that their pain doesn't matter, that they must endure for others' comfort, not their own.

 

[DivineSpark]

If I would get paralyzed neck down, bound to wheelchair for rest of my life. I would like to die in humane way.

 

[Griever]

I have years of therapy experience, but now I'm just at the point where I believe I can't be helped and suicide is the only solution to all my problems

 

[JesiBel]

Institutions do business with the suffering of the living. They never really cared about people's quality of life and dignity. It's all about making money. Hospitalization facilities, medical visits, medical tests, medications.

My mother is hospitalized in a health facility; she is in the terminal stages of her illness. She has multiple sclerosis and has been bedridden for over 10 years, unable to move her body or eat or drink on her own (which is why she has a gastric button, so she can eat through supplements). She lived with this disease for more than half of her life, until she deteriorated and ended up like this. She can't speak or do anything on her own, and her mental state has also severely deteriorated, making it seem as if she were dead in life. Because of her illness, she has a depressed immune system and is prone to any infection, whether viral or bacterial. Being in bed 24/7 causes painful, deep sores on the skin. As she loses autonomy over her entire body, something as basic as swallowing her own saliva becomes complex, and sometimes she chokes and has to be helped on using machines. To live like this is to experience hell while still on this earth. She will only be able to be free when one of her vital organs fails. I will remember my beautiful mother before she was devastated by this disease. It's unfair that she has to continue like this because of a diabolical system that profits from the unfortunate.

And euthanasia is illegal here; it's a country dominated by the Catholic faith. And "life is a precious gift."

Sick world.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I completely agree with you. I think the issue is when mental illness and mental incompetency are combined though. As in- you're not really suffering. Your faulty brain is telling you that you are. Therefore, your perception is negatively skewed and unsound and your judgement is based on that false perspective. So- that's unsound too.

Of course- even if we disagree with that- pain is pain afterall, they may inisist and, they have the power. In which case, it reasonably becomes: Ok then- fix my brain! And my pain.

That's seemingly not as straight forward as it sounds though. It seems far more hit and miss experimental than I'd be happy with so then- we have even more issues. How many of these treatments will a person need to go through in order for doctors to admit defeat? Are these treatments guaranteed to be safe? With no worse side effects?

I just feel like we might be screwed. If we refuse treatment- because we don't feel assured of the science or safety, we go back to: 'But you're mentally ill so therefore, your judgement is f*cked'. So- what choice do people have? Even if it is introduced in a big way- won't that mean people will need to try multiple drugs/ treatments for years maybe? What if they don't want to risk it? It feels like bribary. We'll give you a peaceful exit if you try our experimental drugs. That's hardly free autonomy.

I actually think they do consider patients with mental illness as the primary factor at Pegasos now. Still, I'd be curious how long a person's history with mental healthcare needs to be, to be considered. Plus, how many doctors need to agree.

 

[Ligottian]

Arthur Schopenhauer said that if someone does not have the right to their own life, what right do they really have.

 

[kotonearisato]

And to deny someone the option to choose death in such circumstances is to say that their pain doesn't matter, that they must endure for others' comfort, not their own.

This is exactly it! Why is forcing someone to suffer considered acceptable and normal, but making the heavy decision to leave this world is a sin and something to be ashamed of? Someone continuing to be here is a privilege, not a right. Pain of loss shouldn't be more important than someone's pain of existence. Dying isn't directly hurting someone, it isn't an act of violence - it shouldn't be seen as equivalent to an action with the intent to cause another person harm, but it so often is.

How many of these treatments will a person need to go through in order for doctors to admit defeat? Are these treatments guaranteed to be safe? With no worse side effects?

Yes, exactly. What happens when someone can't go through so many different forms of treatment, to no fault of their own? Like a medication allergy? Not to mention that in so many places, even the most routine treatments are inaccessible due to various constraints. Financial reasons being a big one, but even just lack of resources - since 2020, medication shortages have gotten worse. I myself have had to wait two weeks to fill a prescription this year, because my pharmacy and no pharmacy in the area had it available. And of course there isn't an unlimited supply of doctors to go around treating people. There's so many angles that makes continually trying new treatments until they see if something works unfeasible for most. Treating people already in pain like guinea pigs is just awful.

 

[Forever Sleep]

This is exactly it! Why is forcing someone to suffer considered acceptable and normal, but making the heavy decision to leave this world is a sin and something to be ashamed of? Someone continuing to be here is a privilege, not a right. Pain of loss shouldn't be more important than someone's pain of existence. Dying isn't directly hurting someone, it isn't an act of violence - it shouldn't be seen as equivalent to an action with the intent to cause another person harm, but it so often is.

Yes, exactly. What happens whacked someone can't go through so many different forms of treatment, to no fault of their own? Like a medication allergy? Not to mention that in so many places, even the most routine treatments are inaccessible due to various constraints. Financial reasons being a big one, but even just lack of resources - since 2020, medication shortages have gotten worse. I myself have had to wait two weeks to fill a prescription this year, because my pharmacy and no pharmacy in the area had it available. And of course there isn't an unlimited supply of doctors to go around treating people. There's so many angles that makes continually trying new treatments until they see if something works unfeasible for most. Treating people already in pain like guinea pigs is just awful.

I hadn't really considered all the other barriers to treatment. That's a good point. I wonder how they'll navigate round all those issues. I feel like mental illness will be accepted eventually as reasonable cause but yeah, it just seems like a minefield.

I'm not certain they always agree on what someone has to begin with. They don't seem to always know how to cure it. I doubt they'll then come to the conclusion that the illness that you might have (although,it could be something else) is uncurable because, they can't be certain about any of it! It would be funny if it wasn't f*cking up so many people's lives.

We need some genius person to figure out the brain- clearly. The irony. The organ that creates these geniuses yet none are clever enough to be able to adequately study it. That would be funny too if it wasn't so tragic.

 

[quietwoods]

While I would agree that there should be some restrictions, like not immediately handing N to people in severe emotional distress, having no painless and peaceful way to end your life is a gross violation of human rights.

We have the fundamental right to freedom of thought and expression, but a rational, sane person capable of making their own decisions has no readily available path to ending their life? Something which only they own?

Give me a break...

 

[Michelstaedter]

Society is two-faced. It doesn't want legal death, but rather the living dead, because for many people, it's God's job to ensure they go to his kingdom when he decides. However, if you commit a sin, the sin is yours, and so is the punishment.

So much for bullshit. I'm fed up with all this garbage and double talk. The world is overcrowded and resources are limited. Nature "roars angrily" at the damage done to it, but when there's a "plague" or an ecological imbalance, they want to remedy it as if the damage being caused had never been known. The important thing is to wear a suit, earn millions of dollars, and claim that humanity is the priority. Deep down, by saying "humanity," these self-centered lunatics are referring to themselves: psychopaths, sick with power.