Don Nelson #fundie

Don Nelson #fundie wesleyjsmith.com

[Replying to an argument that assisted suicide is compassionate and respects people's right to autonomy]

The notion that meaning in life diminishes as automy diminishes or that the value of life is dependent upon its length is offensive.

I'm guessing that that lady has no idea that's what her words mean and that's how people living highly dependent lives are going to hear it. She probably thinks her words are "compassionate" too.

14 comments

old comment by NotMe

The notion that meaning in life diminishes as automy diminishes or that the value of life is dependent upon its length is offensive.

For which point is he arguing? If you commit assisted suicide you aren't thinking about how you have lived long enough but about how painful it is for you to continue living. These people decide for themselves that they are better of dead, no one forces them to die (that would be murder, nor assisted suicide). You might reconsider the value of your life if you have lived independently all your life and because of old age or an accident you can't do anything without help. Or what about being sick, their are some diseases that are very painful in their final stadia, are those people who do nothing but suffer and are doomed to die after a few weeks not entitled to leave life without all that suffering? It is your own choice, if you feel that it is against your holy texts or just immoral, don't do it. But don't try and forbid people who want to use the "service" to make use of it.

old comment by Winston Jen

Pretty much, CousinTed, despite the fact that it is illegal for the disabled to be supplied lethal drugs under Oregon's law.
Edit: In Phillip Nitchke's book, Killing Me Softly, he mentions that if a patient is considering suicide because palliative care is insufficient, he only has to call them and tell them that the patient has contacted Exit (www.exitinternational.net) about suicide methods because of the lack of pain relief. This usually jars them into action, because they don't want to be accused of encouraging suicide. On the other hand, what have pro-life politicians in Australia done? They've cut the palliative care budget, which would do little except increase the number of suicides among the terminally ill.

old comment by fatpie42

Ok this guy really ISN'T much of a fundie. I'd give this a 1 (though I haven't voted yet so please reply to this).
If you look at the quotation below, this person is equating assisted dying with a subtle form of eugenics. You don't want to spend money keeping people alive then why not 'offer' them the option of suicide when they are at their lowest. Naturally, however, this idea that someone with a terminal disease at the brink of death has "so much to live for" is nonsense. People are campaigning for the RIGHT to assisted dying, not for its PROMOTION. Even so, as wrong as this argument might be, it doesn't count as 'fundamentalist' to my mind. "I don't see how the PAS case is helped by saying it's not about pain and depression but about loss of autonomy and the enjoyment of life and etc, as if that legitimizes it. This is another one of those condescending putdowns wrapped up as "compassion" that tells a whole class of people that their lives are not worth living. If these were healthy, ambulatory, promising teenagers who were in a funk, they'd get them counseling because they "have so much to live for" just as they did to a close friend who tried to commit suicide even though he was homecoming king, student body president, a track star and couldn't keep the girls away. We put boatloads of money into preventing THEIR suicides. But, if you don't have long to live and you aren't autonomous, don't enjoy life and feel burdensome, then we can understand that YOU'D want to kill yourself. That is bigoted and says that we don't believe that those lives are worth living because of their physical makeup and abilities."

Don Nelson #fundie wesleyjsmith.com

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