Should mercy killing be legal?

So I came across something interesting whilst mindlessly surfing the Internet as I am prone to do which was this story of a couple of deaf Belgian twins that were losing their eyesight and the thought of never being able to see each other ever again was too much for them to bear so they had the doctor perform a mercy killing on them.

Which got me thinking, why is this not legal everywhere, in the country I am currently residing in it is not legal for doctors to perform mercy killings, and I always wondered why.

Because to be honest if it was legal I might do it, reason being that quite frankly I am the biggest piece of human garbage that has ever existed. I have nothing, no family, no friends, no education (high school drop out) and only a pretty shit part time job that barely keeps me afloat. I don't deserve to exist nor do I want to exist but I am apparently not allowed to die. It is pretty messed up when you stop to think about it.

So.. What do you guys think?

Because life is sanctimonious and blah blah blah.

@Simplexity said:

Because to be honest if it was legal I might do it, reason being that quite frankly I am the biggest piece of human garbage that has ever existed. I have nothing, no family, no friends, no education (high school drop out) and only a pretty shit part time job that barely keeps me afloat. I don't deserve to exist nor do I want to exist but I am apparently not allowed to die. It is pretty messed up when you stop to think about it.

So.. What do you guys think?

The way you said what you just said there means that you want legalized suicide which is not mercy killing. So I'm not for it. At least not for the reason you just stated.

Well, this got dark.

As for the topic at hand, sure? Everyone has the right to die, I guess.

I think euthanasia and mercy killings should definitely be legal (as long as things don't go overboard and enough laws are established to prevent such conditions). Personally, I'd have it done; I have little to offer to the world.

Still, I feel like this topic was almost made as a cry for help due to your transition towards everything wrong with your life and how you're "the biggest piece of human garbage that ever existed." Although I feel the same way about myself, I'm not sure if THAT is an appropriate discussion to start on a public forum; I'd recommend PMing a user on here or contacting someone by other means. We here at Giant Bomb are pretty willing to help out our fellow duders, but I think most of us would like to keep conversations like this a little more private. I'd love to be the one to talk, but it's later here, so I can't right now (you can send me a PM or something and I might respond when I wake up though).

So yeah, peace out.

If it were to exist, it would need some strict rules. I would only see it "useful" in regards to people who are dying of a disease or those twins brought up in the original post.

I don't think suicidal people should have free, easy access to off themselves because of depression or other mental issues. That just leads to a place where people die every week because they are having a bad day or something silly like that. Giving those people the easy option makes it much too simple.

We aren't ready for that stuff, yet. Give it a few more centuries.

Mercy killing seems to be touching into a very grey area. I am all for assisted suicide under certain instances, though.

At this point in history it's not a question of should or should not.

I think we've all had the feeling of worthlessness from time to time. It's just par for the course, a symptom of being human. Don't let the emotions drag you down, you have so many opportunities to advance yourself. There's always hope. Here, check this sweet seal:

If that doesn't make you feel better, I don't know what will. To answer your question however, yes. But only in the most dire of circumstances.

Depends on the circumstance. The twins had a good reason. Depression related suicide, however, would skyrocket if there was an easy way to peacefully off oneself, so it'd have to be pretty heavily screened. Also, if this were to even be discussed in the united states, we would have tons of religious protesters. It'd never happen easily here for that reason alone. Abortion is already a hot button issue in the states. Throw the idea of offing fully developed people into the ring and you'd cause a shitstorm like no other.

As for what I personally believe...I don't know. For the terminally ill, yes. And I'm all for people having the choice to do something like this in the most peaceful manner possible instead of resorting to other suicidal methods, but I'm not sure that people are always capable of making that decision for themselves. If everyone could just go to a hospital and end it whenever they felt a little down, well, we wouldn't have much of a population to work with.

This is a sad topic :(

As for the question.....I don't think so. The government shouldn't be allowed to make laws around this. Sure, it means that some people will suffer, but better that then doctors possibly abusing their power to mercy killing (aka do it to free a bed and save hospital money)

If you have a terminal illness you should be able to, definitely. With cases like Lou-Gehrig's or other crippling diseases, it'd be much more preferable to end it when you can still sign a legal agreement instead of waiting until you've lost all function and you're reduced to a human vegetable that just eats and shits and breathes. As far as "just because", it gets a little shaky and I could imagine some weird legal issues with people who might not be in a mental state to make the decision they really want to. But overall, I think people should have the right to die. If they can legally decide to vote, drink, gamble, etc. they should be able to decide that they want to die.

I just watched a nice, recent, 1998 episode of Law and Order about mercy killing.

I don't know. Too many edge cases. The best solution so far seems to be one country that allows it - that way, if you're making the effort to travel there, you sure as shit know you wanna kill yourself.

That's a hard question to answer. I think it really depends on the situation at hand.

Lots of grey area, ya know?

@Mcfart said:

This is a sad topic :(

As for the question.....I don't think so. The government shouldn't be allowed to make laws around this. Sure, it means that some people will suffer, but better that then doctors possibly abusing their power to mercy killing (aka do it to free a bed and save hospital money)

"Shouldn't be allowed?" Not sure what you're implying but it seems to me you're looking at it backwards. As it is now, they're technically more restrictive than they would be if assisted suicide was legal. Why let the govt decide that someone has to suffer through the last few months of their life? If someone's going to die anyways, they should be able to choose by what manner and how fast it happens.

As long as they do it with a claymore I'm fine with it

There is a documentary on Dr. Kevorkian on Netflix called... Kevorkian. It's a very sad subject for me because I lost my father to ALS and watched him die for literally years. I'm sure part of him wanted to get it over with and another part of him wanted to be with his family as long as possible. Anyway, I can't help but think of Futurama and their suicide booths while reading this thread.

Allowing Euthanisia for terminally ill patients that are only kept alive by machines and heavy medication, yeah sure.

Legalizing suicide ? Hell no !

I dont believe it should be legal. Maybe depenalized in some cases or something like that but saying its ok to kill someone for whatever reason is a step in wrong direction.

Yes, it should be legal.

Topics like this piss me off. I don't want to lash out and attack anyone and look like an ass but...it's just hard. Seeing people who are just so...ugh.

No, you are not the biggest piece of garbage that ever existed. You may or may not be able to offer something to the world. The world doesn't care either way though. Humans are the ones that care enough to try to stop your death. That should indicate that we value your life, as low as you may think it is.

Euthanasia is a touchy subject that possibly should be looked at on a case by case basis. Assisted suicide should be off the table.

@Simplexity

Assisted suicide or mercy killing shouldn't be legal, but a physician-assisted merciful death for a dying individual is reasonable.

Someone feeling that their life has no meaning or their circumstances are going down does not mean a physician should assist them in killing themselves. But if someone is dying and there is no further recourse, a merciful death through the assistance of a trained physician sounds like a humane option for a patient. Unless the person is dying and a doctor determines that their condition is deteriorating toward a point where keeping them alive might be cruel, there is no reason for a doctor to be allowed to kill someone simply because the person is willing to die.

If you truly want to die, you shouldn't want someone else to have to be a part of it. It sounds like your health is fine and you're doing well enough for yourself to get by. Instead of trying to find someone to kill you, you should try to work on learning how to appreciate the life you have and become someone you can be proud to be.

If someone's basically laying on their deathbed, and they just want to go without anymore suffering, by all means, help them die.  But healthy people should not be able to stroll into a hospital and ask to be killed.

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

@SpencerBoltz said:

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

Because just with the act of making it illegal some people will then not do it.

Yes, but only allowed under certain understandable circumstances. I have been, and still quite am, depressed about my life as well. I have a very hard time finding motivation to move forward in life. Without making this thread any darker than it already seems to awkwardly be, I have contemplated suicide at some dark moments. Still, I don't believe that to be a good reason. I wouldn't allow people with those kinds of issues to commit "legal suicide", since those problems are things that can be dealt with and we shouldn't allow depressive people to be this "lazy", for lack of a better word. It is obviously within their rights, but I believe we should strive to make each other's lives better, not just solve issues by simply ending them. In some way though, I guess it could be ok, but I would strongly encourage someone to seek help first. I think there should some sort of proof that the person in question has been psychologically diagnosed with some sort of mental condition and that this individual actually went through some process to try and improve said condition.

The circumstances I would obviously allow would be for people with terminal illnesses and such. I also know of some rare conditions that have put people in basically vegetative states where they can do absolutely nothing, but are still conscious. The problem with that, is that the person can't communicate in any way, so they can't say how they feel about their situation. I mean, we can easily assume it's fucking terrible, but do they really feel that way? Can we make that decision for them? I really don't know.

It's funny how mercy killing suffering animals is called "humane", but we don't do it for each other and we are the ones who are humans.

@OmegaChosen said:

@SpencerBoltz said:

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

Because just with the act of making it illegal some people will then not do it.

True, but still interesting in theory. Although I also have very little confidence in someone who is unwilling to break such a law with absolutely no consequence, unless they believe in a religious consequence; but such a person would be following their spiritual convictions and not the law which means that the law still wouldn't matter. If you're in such bad a place that you want to take your own life and the only thing holding you back is the thought of breaking a law that is impossible to be punished for seems just plain dumb. But on the other hand, you are right in that it will deter people all the same. Like I said, it's interesting and it is also odd.

@SpencerBoltz said:

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

People often support euthanasia for dying or brain dead individuals because of a concern over cruelty. The law doesn't just penalize, as things aren't always cut and dry. For example, an issue like abortion weighs the rights of one individual versus another with a particular interest in deciding what is deemed cruel and unusual. Thus, you have laws limiting abortion after a certain point, as there is consideration for the fact that the fetus may comprehend pain or survive outside of the womb after that point, making killing it a possibly cruel act to a living thing. You see similar concerns when it comes to the difference between disciplining or training an animal and what constitutes cruelty to animals. These are examples of the law taking into account what may be considered cruel, and in the case of the terminally ill, it may be considered cruel to maintain a deteriorating and limited life of physical suffering. A doctor assisting someone with death is often considered the acceptable way to avoid this cruel situation.

Yet, that doesn't extend into normal individuals who are not terminally ill, as there is no medical or legal reason to have them die. Depression is considered a medical issue which needs treatment, not assistance in ending someone's life. Issues revolving around one's satisfaction in life or personal direction are psychologically-recognized human problems which have known treatments. People looking to commit suicide need real help. In the case of the terminally ill, the only medical help may be assistance in a merciful death, but for those whose issues are psychological, assisted suicide is not the answer. If someone is considering suicide, they need professional help, not death.

Mostly because of religion and other people who think all life is sacred. Which is BS if you ask me. If you murder someone you give up your rights to your life since you took someone's else's against their will. Murderers should be killed, all of them!

Knowing someone who has committed suicide, and two who tried makes me kind of biased, but I don't see why we should help people kill themselves. I think every minute of your life has value, even the painful ones.

@avidwriter said:

Mostly because of religion and other people who think all life is sacred. Which is BS if you ask me. If you murder someone you give up your rights to your life since you took someone's else's against their will. Murderers should be killed, all of them!

He's talking about mercy killing or assisted suicide, not the death penalty. That's a completely separate issue. The OP is suicidal and asking if assisted suicide should be legal.

A. Suicide is technically illegal, but what are they gonna do, put your corpse in jail?

B. If money is so tight, why spend 50 bucks on a subscription to this site?

C. If you really feel that way, you need to talk to someone that isn't the internet. But seriously, Get help.

If someone is suffering with an incurable disease and they feel they have no quality of life, they're bed-ridden and/or in pain etc, I absolutely think euthanasia should be a legal option. I don't see any logical reason why we should allow someone to suffer. But as for assisted suicide if someone is depressed? No.

(OP, it sounds like you need some help and I urge you to seek it. Life doesn't have to be this way for you. I really do hope you get the help you need.)

@TruthTellah said:

@SpencerBoltz said:

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

People often support euthanasia for dying or brain dead individuals because of a concern over cruelty. The law doesn't just penalize, as things aren't always cut and dry. For example, an issue like abortion weighs the rights of one individual versus another with a particular interest in deciding what is deemed cruel and unusual. Thus, you have laws limiting abortion after a certain point, as there is consideration for the fact that the fetus may comprehend pain or survive outside of the womb after that point, making killing it a possibly cruel act to a living thing. You see similar concerns when it comes to the difference between disciplining or training an animal and what constitutes cruelty to animals. These are examples of the law taking into account what may be considered cruel, and in the case of the terminally ill, it may be considered cruel to maintain a deteriorating and limited life of physical suffering. A doctor assisting someone with death is often considered the acceptable way to avoid this cruel situation.

Yet, that doesn't extend into normal individuals who are not terminally ill, as there is no medical or legal reason to have them die. Depression is considered a medical issue which needs treatment, not assistance in ending someone's life. Issues revolving around one's satisfaction in life or personal direction are psychologically-recognized human problems which have known treatments. People looking to commit suicide need real help. In the case of the terminally ill, the only medical help may be assistance in a merciful death, but for those whose issues are psychological, assisted suicide is not the answer. If someone is considering suicide, they need professional help, not death.

I agree. Assisted suicide is a completely different issue when it concerns the mentally disturbed. However the fact still remains that the deceased cannot be punished for the so-called crime of suicide only the one who assisted can be tried and punished. I really meant to speak only to unassisted suicide which people still believe to be immoral and therefore ought to be illegal. Also, to be clear, I didn't want my words to be implied to apply to issues such as abortion. Please read my previous post to be about an individual who commits suicide alone without an accomplice. I think there is an implication with euthanasia that says that doctors are helping people to end a suffering that they are incapable of ending on their own due to the conditions of their suffering. I don't think anyone should help someone kill themselves when that individual is capable of ending their own life on their own terms. Obviously I don't want anyone to kill themselves but I very much believe people have a right to do to their body whatever they want. No person has the choice to be born, but they have the choice to end their life, whether or not the law or any other person says they do.

It's really unfortunate that the title of this topic has literally nothing to do with the post.

Euthanasia is not suicide. There is a difference between not being able to live and thinking dying would be better than living.

If you can truly look at the worst humanity has to offer, the absolute worst (serial killers, rapists, dictators), and say you less to offer society than these people then go ahead and off yourself.

I sincerely doubt you can though, you'd be surprised how much even the smallest gestures of kindness can change a life.

@skooks said:

If someone is suffering with an incurable disease and they feel they have no quality of life, they're bed-ridden and/or in pain etc, I absolutely think euthanasia should be a legal option. I don't see any logical reason why we should allow someone to suffer. But as for assisted suicide if someone is depressed? No.

(OP, it sounds like you need some help and I urge you to seek it. Life doesn't have to be this way for you. I really do hope you get the help you need.)

I feel like there are a descent number of posts on this site about people being depressed and suicidal. Get help. I wish only the best for anyone who has these issues and we live in an age where the best help is available to millions.

There's something to be said for the argument that wanting to kill yourself indicates a mental disorder, and you're not going to let crazy people start making life and death medical decisions for themselves. Unfortunately there is no clear line that can be drawn where X amount of suffering makes it ok and indicates a person in full control of their faculties.

Personally I'd say legalize it but only under the extremist of circumstances after the situation has been assessed with the thoroughest or scrutiny.

@SpencerBoltz said:

@TruthTellah said:

@SpencerBoltz said:

It's interesting though that people believe that suicide should not be legalized but euthanasia should be. When it comes to law there is a sense of justice being carried out and justice can only be carried out through penalty, a penalty can only be administered to the living. This presents a conundrum. Based solely on the virtue of law it only makes sense to have law prohibiting euthanasia and allowing suicide but for some that is counter intuitive because it promotes the waste of a seemingly healthy life and the prolonging of an unnecessarily painful one. I guess my only prudent point here is to ask the question: what does it matter if suicide is legal or not? (and I know that this topic is about assisted suicide but this statement is not about that, just a thought I had.)

People often support euthanasia for dying or brain dead individuals because of a concern over cruelty. The law doesn't just penalize, as things aren't always cut and dry. For example, an issue like abortion weighs the rights of one individual versus another with a particular interest in deciding what is deemed cruel and unusual. Thus, you have laws limiting abortion after a certain point, as there is consideration for the fact that the fetus may comprehend pain or survive outside of the womb after that point, making killing it a possibly cruel act to a living thing. You see similar concerns when it comes to the difference between disciplining or training an animal and what constitutes cruelty to animals. These are examples of the law taking into account what may be considered cruel, and in the case of the terminally ill, it may be considered cruel to maintain a deteriorating and limited life of physical suffering. A doctor assisting someone with death is often considered the acceptable way to avoid this cruel situation.

Yet, that doesn't extend into normal individuals who are not terminally ill, as there is no medical or legal reason to have them die. Depression is considered a medical issue which needs treatment, not assistance in ending someone's life. Issues revolving around one's satisfaction in life or personal direction are psychologically-recognized human problems which have known treatments. People looking to commit suicide need real help. In the case of the terminally ill, the only medical help may be assistance in a merciful death, but for those whose issues are psychological, assisted suicide is not the answer. If someone is considering suicide, they need professional help, not death.

I agree. Assisted suicide is a completely different issue when it concerns the mentally disturbed. However the fact still remains that the deceased cannot be punished for the so-called crime of suicide only the one who assisted can be tried and punished. I really meant to speak only to unassisted suicide which people still believe to be immoral and therefore ought to be illegal. Also, to be clear, I didn't want my words to be implied to apply to issues such as abortion. Please read my previous post to be about an individual who commits suicide alone without an accomplice. I think there is an implication with euthanasia that says that doctors are helping people to end a suffering that they are incapable of ending on their own due to the conditions of their suffering. I don't think anyone should help someone kill themselves when that individual is capable of ending their own life on their own terms. Obviously I don't want anyone to kill themselves but I very much believe people have a right to do to their body whatever they want. No person has the choice to be born, but they have the choice to end their life, whether or not the law or any other person says they do.

To be frank, the government is there to protect our lives even when we're depressed, and so, it has no reason to support people killing others or themselves.

Should suicide be illegal? That's tough. But yes, it should. Because, while we often talk about suicide as being the same as successful suicide, they're not. Statistically, people are much more likely to just end up injuring themselves when trying to commit suicide than successfully commit suicide. And so, it is in these many cases which suicide laws really matter. Due to its illegality, the state can make an individual get the proper treatment for their issues which prompted the suicide attempt. Since most people who attempt suicide do not succeed, suicide laws allow the state options for either getting someone the help they desire or compelling them to receive the proper treatment for their problems.

@monkey523 said:

If someone's basically laying on their deathbed, and they just want to go without anymore suffering, by all means, help them die. But healthy people should not be able to stroll into a hospital and ask to be killed.

This. I'd also like to add that the "healthy people" should seek professional assistance to help alleviate depression. It's sad that mankind has come this far, yet mental illness remains a social stigma in many societies. This social stigma probably has the ability to increase the severity of mental illness.

Dude, if you're really that down you should go see a psychologist. There is no shame in seeking help and they can definitely provide it.

@Video_Game_King said:

Because life is sanctimonious and blah blah blah.

Huh?

I don't think sanctimonious means what you think it does.

We euthanize animals, it's pretty crazy that we don't allow it for ourselves.

@GetEveryone:

But it's a human life and blah blah blah. (It should be obvious that I'm only invested in this argument to the extent that I want to spew boring old platitudes without actually supporting them.)

Euthanasia? Most certainly.

Encouraging suicide and not providing mental health aid? Certainly not

@SlashDance@SpencerBoltz : Suicide is not a crime.

@Video_Game_King said:

@GetEveryone:

But it's a human life and blah blah blah. (It should be obvious that I'm only invested in this argument to the extent that I want to spew boring old platitudes without actually supporting them.)

It was, I was just being a pedant.

@Simplexity: its perfectly legal in some countries and its been working well for them.

i dont understand how this is a hard answer. If someone is suffering in any way, why shouldnt they be able to die in peace. what a joke of a system.

just out of curiosity to the people saying suicide should be illegal, how do you propose to enforce such a law?

I mean, really. I'm morbidly curious about that.

If the person truly wants to die and things seem helpless for them I see no problem with it.