Its Time for Voluntary Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

America Needs Voluntary mercy killing There are at least two forms of self-annihilation. One is emotional self-destruction, or irrational self-murder in all of it complexities and sadness. allow me emphasis at at a time that my view of this tragic form of self-destruction is the same as that of the suicide intervention movement and the rest of society, which is to prevent it wherever possible. I do not support any form of suicide for mental wellness or emotional reasons. But I do say that in that location is a second form of suicide -- justifiable suicide, that is, rational and mean self-deliverance from a painful and hopeless disease which will shortly goal in death. I dont think the word suicide sits well in this circumstance but we are stuck with it. Many have tried to popularize the status self-deliverance but it is an uphill battle because the news media is in love with the linguistic communication assisted suicide. Also, we have to face the fact that the la w calls all forms of self-destruction suicide. Let me point out here for those who might not know it that suicide is no longer a crime anywhere in the communicatory world. (It used to be, and was punishable by giving all the dead persons gold and goods to the government.) Attempted suicide is no longer a crime, although under wellness laws a person can in most pass ons be forcibly placed in a psychiatric hospital for three eld for evaluation. But giving assistant in suicide remains a crime, except in the Netherlands in recent times under genuine conditions, and it has never been a crime in Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Uruguay. The rest of the world punishes assistance in suicide for both the mentally ill and the terminally ill, although the state of Oregon recently (Nov. l994) passed by ballot Measure 16 a limited physician-assisted suicide law. At present (Feb. l995) this is held up in the law courts. Even if a hopelessly ill person is requesting assistance in dying for the most compassionate reasons, and the helper is acting from the most solemn of motives, it remains a crime in the Anglo-American world. Punishments range from fines to fourteen eld in prison. It is this catch- all prohibition which I and others wish to change.