Comment by mitthrowaway2 3 days ago
MAID being inappropriately offered to people who haven't expressed interest in it, and also being extended widely to people without terminal illness, has certainly become a controversy in Canada.
https://thewalrus.ca/assisted-dying/
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/doesnt-line-up-mps-c...
I don't necessarily agree with this take but I'd say it's probably because we're only willing to let people who are close to death "make a mistake."
Eg maybe a 16 year old who wants to end their otherwise healthy life might, 20 years later, be glad they didn't.
That seems less likely with someone who is almost certainly going to die (and probably painfully to boot) "soon".
> maybe a 16 year old who wants to end their otherwise healthy life might, 20 years later, be glad they didn't.
Equally, they might spend decades of their life in misery wishing that they had been able to.
You're correct, and I'm generally in favor of the right to die.
I watched a documentary where they interviewed a bunch of people who attempted suicide and talked to them about the entire experience and mental state. Out of the maybe ten that they interviewed, only one said that he wished it had worked. That doesn't mean it's only 10% though... they didn't get to interview the ones that succeeded.
I don't particularly like this wording but can't seem to come up with another one right now:
I think it's okay for us to try and avoid the irreversible mistake, but yes, it's very arguable that living years you didn't want to live is also an "irreversible mistake".
Why should only terminally ill people get this choice? A 16 year old can decide who to kill in the army but apparently they (and we) aren't competent to choose whether to take one's own life.