Mental illness and conditions like persistent vegetative state are an interesting points to consider.

That's what I've considered from the start.

Personally, mental illness on the level of things like downs syndrome or severe autism should not ever be a reason for euthanasia. I know no one else suggested that, but I've heard it before and I disagree because people can live perfectly happy lives with such disabilities, if things are handled properly. I think.

You know, I'm better at replying to points than creating them.

when i brought up mental illness, i didn't imply birth defects. I was talking about severe and crippling depression. People born with deficiencies (in most cases) can live happily with changes to their families normal routine. I know i was born a little different and I live just fine.

Originally Posted by lastemoon

when i brought up mental illness, i didn't imply birth defects. I was talking about severe and crippling depression. People born with deficiencies (in most cases) can live happily with changes to their families normal routine. I know i was born a little different and I live just fine.

Some mental illnesses like schizophrenia can be very debilitating for a person. I have several manic depressive friends who have expressed there desire to end their life because they feel they can not bare to go through another cycle of mania and depression.

true. i think thats another point to consider. Mental illnesses can be very painful and hard to cope with. I think decisions on these matters would vary case by case depending on severity of illness. tough call. i maintain, however, that i did not imply birth defects such as down syndrome.

Just so we're clear here, I didn't say you did, I just meant I've heard other people say that and I figured I'd bring it up.

I'm pro euthanasia. Personally I wouldn't want to live trapped in my own body. That would be worse than solitary confinement, to know that I could spend years with a fully functioning mind trapped in an immovable body makes me want to cry. Imagine seeing your loved ones and wanting to tell them you love them, touch them, hug them, anything and you couldn't. I would consider than cruel and inhumane.

I know that to others especially the loved ones would think this as murder, but if they have written it down in a will or told their family members that they wanted it to be so then I really don't see the problem. Yes I understand that it is hard to let go of the people you love but if you really love them then you should let them go instead of letting them suffer.

I think that if the person who would be Euthanized has said that is what they want (if they have chronic pain, etc) and hte problem with people in a vegetable state...I think that people should talk to their family about what should be done if they were somehow put into a vegetable-like state. Though you may have greedy family members who just want the person dead so they can get their money or estate or whatever who force it on the person (maybe there should be some sort of protection against that sort of thing...like some kind of advocacy group). I don't think a person should have to suffer if they don't want to or be kept alive if they're in a vegetable-like state if they've stated that they want to die if that were to happen. It's that's person's choice. I've noticed over the years that so many people are afraid of dying, and I don't really think it's something to be afraid of. It's a natural occurrence in the human life-cycle, and we increase medical technology to keep death from happening for as long as possible.

I think if we are allowed to euthanize pets we should be able to euthanize people. They always say it's the "humane" thing to do-- you can't spell humane without human. We kill animals for completely arbitrary reasons, but people don't have the right to choose to end their lives if they are suffering? I call shenanigans.

I believe that it honestly depends on the situation. We have people on life support for years that their families refuse to give up on them. Should we force these people to kill their loved one who can't make the decision themselves just so we can turn over a hospital room. Chronic pain doesn't make sense to me though at all. I have a friend who's got several health problems that cause extreme pain and she just keeps going. She's not looking at suicide as an option. Not to mention that by current law assisted suicide is actually labeled as Murder and is illegal. So you would have to not only get medical professionals trained for this but also get a whole series of laws changed.

I am pro-Euthanasia, to a great extent.
I believe that if a person wants to die, they should be able to end their lives.

I'm for euthanasia, however because it can so easily be misused i think there should be limitations. I know it wouldn't really work in all cases, but if the person gives consent/has given consent (in case they cannot in their current state) then I think it should be okay.

Personally, if i was in a state where I was not able to recover, I would choose death. If you have the right to live, you should also have the right to die (though with limitations. i don't mean cases of suicide and such.)