razeh 3 days ago

I think people tend to underestimate the risks in allowing suicide —- here’s a blurb from the linked article:

However, social acceptance may lead to more egregious abuses: the issue gained a higher profile in early 2010, when an 80-year-old man escaped after discovering his intended fate and heard his family members discussing how they were going to "share" his lands, and took refuge in a relative's home.

  • JumpCrisscross 3 days ago

    > people tend to underestimate the risks in allowing suicide

    People obsess over this risk. It—and religious opposition—are the reason it’s only an option for those who can travel to and hospice in Switzerland.

    > social acceptance may lead to more egregious abuses

    Do we have any evidence societies that have tolerated suicide had higher rates of murder? Switzerland doesn’t strike me as a hotbed of senior murder, for example.

  • voakbasda 3 days ago

    That’s not suicide. That’s a conspiracy to commit murder.

    • beedeebeedee 3 days ago

      Yes, and that is one of the reasons our culture has made practices like these taboo- it can give the veneer of respectability to despicable acts

      • voakbasda 3 days ago

        And why there should be more nuance to the issue: legalizing suicide is not the same as legalizing assisted suicide.

        I want to be free to die on my own terms. Conversely, I do not want the healthcare system to be allowed to even suggest it.

  • kranke155 3 days ago

    Using exceptions to make rules is dumb.

    • hrimfaxi 3 days ago

      Isn't it only exceptional because assisted suicide is relatively rare worldwide?

  • raffael_de 3 days ago

    People also underestimate the risks in allowing sexual intercourse, driving a car, playing football and doing ice baths ...