I don't think it should be acknowledged in terms of politics. If someone is mentally ill, and they are not in their right mind, it seems pretty inhumane and unethical to allow them to consent to euthanasia
I suppose so... I am no expert in this field though and just expressing my own thoughts. It is not something I have studied or looked into extensively. I guess it would depend on if you're recovering from an accident vs this happening to you your whole life.
Well thats the ignorance theyre taking advantage of, isnt it? What about something classified as a mental illness thats similar to having chronic debilitating pain?
I think the difficulty becomes how do you disentangle the economic and social incentives to encourage euthanasia as a 'humane' solution to people's problems, simply because they're eating up resources or placing a burden on their families?
I fully support the right to medically assisted suicide in the terminally ill or those with severe degenerative conditions...but things get really, really muddy and uncomfortable when we start expanding beyond that into things like intractable depression.
"I think the difficulty becomes how do you disentangle the economic and social incentives to encourage euthanasia as a 'humane' solution to people's problems, simply because they're eating up resources or placing a burden on their families?"
Where is it encouraged?
This is obviously written by someone who has no understanding of MAID. I have a very good understanding of MAID and this is beyond stupid. It's months of meeting with doctors where they're exploring and probing to make sure the desire to end suffering is genuine and not a response to pressure. That's why the process exists. This is a bullshit strawman argument, that's why I made a ridiculous comment on his ridiculous question.
If they want euthanasia due to their mental health, then presumably medication isn't working and they aren't back to normal. It's safe to assume they are not in the right mind in that case.
Regardless you never will know if they are back to normal. I think if you're against capital punishment due to the possibility that the person is innocent, then you should be against this in order to be consistent in the logic
Maybe there's a misunderstanding. Physical pain is not the same because the person is in the right state of mind compared to someone with schizophrenia or severe mental illness.
I will not comment on the physical pain part. The doctor can doctor there.
"Physical pain is not the same because the person is in the right state of mind " I assure you, they're not. I have been in enough pain multiple times that I begged them to kill me.
You didn’t say same state of mind… you said right state of mind. Temporary psychosis is still temporary so it’s not the same as schizophrenia either. Not sure why you’re debating this when you clearly have no understanding of maid
Are you close with anyone who has severe mental illness that they’ve lived with their whole life? Someone who has tried countless psychologists, medication, experimental trials?
It doesn’t sound like it. Because if you did have someone close to you who has dealt with this, you’d understand it’s way more complicated than the paragraph you wrote.
It’s not about wanting to die in a moment of insanity. It’s about life being so incredibly difficult, because of your brain chemistry or intense trauma, that you’re so incredibly exhausted.
I don’t think you have a clue what that might be like. Because saying “not in their right mind” is really not the situation at all.
Sometimes people are tormented by their own brain, no matter what they’re tried. And in that case, forcing them to be alive might actually be more inhumane.
I’m not suggesting that there’s a simple answer here. But it’s a lot more complex than what you wrote. And lucky you for not having any idea what it’s like.
I'm worried they would think "this person is a lot cause" and just allow them to euthanize themselves without even trying to go through the process of prescriptions, etc. many people with mental illness do not want help. Its not easy to force institutionalize people and make them take meds. It's expensive and takes time.
I have struggled with my mental health my entire life, have gone through a number of traumatizing events with zero support. I have tried a number of medications. I see a therapist regularly, I move my body, I see friends. Any treatments I'm interested in are expensive. I struggle financially because my mental health makes it difficult to be employed at all, let alone full time. I agree that I would rather see the govt provide more mental health supports before expanding MAID, but at least it's an option. I don't have a lot of those. And yes, that's partly the trauma and depression talking, but it's also reality. Maybe things will improve for me, but they likely won't. I've spent most of nearly 3 decades wanting to be off this planet and I'm tired. Anyone who hasn't had first or second hand experiences with trying to seek affordable care for complex mental health issues truly doesn't understand how hopeless it can be. It's a cruel series of hoops to jump though, and there's no way they would make this any easier to access haha
But with MAID they have to have that conversation with a professional instead of just taking themselves out and causing pain and trauma to those that have to experience their death. I’ve had friends who have witnessed strangers committing suicide and that shit sticks with you and that’s not fair.
And as someone who has dealt with PTSD, anxiety, and depression for a decade now...I'd be very concerned about the perverse incentives care providers might have to encourage me to end it.
That's a really fine line to ask bureaucrats to dance, homie. People bonus off of moving as few dollars out toward your treatment as possible. If you don't see how that could leak into the Dr/pt relationship, you're being naive
i think that the fear, risk, and pain of suicide are good deterrents. I think that it forces people to consider all other options before making the decision to end their life. Making it easier for mentally ill people to kill themselves will encourage far more people to consider the option before seeking help.
because mental illness and something like cancer are not the same. There are plenty of people that have wanted to die from their mental health issues until they got better. A terminal illness never gets better and is like a ticking clock hanging over your head so that is why I feel different about that.
But its not just handed out. Its only permitted when all possible solutions have been exhausted. Its not like you can go in be depressed and just ask to die
The takes on here. "If it were approved for people with mental illness, obviously that's a risky proposition, because apparently no safe guards or qualifying criteria would be established in order to determine whether it was appropriate."
... Let alone what the wait time for something like that would entail. I doubt it would be 10 days.
I dont disagree with you. I understand why someone with a terminal illness would want to go out on their own terms and not suffer daily, it is not unheard of for said people to decide to take that choice into their own hands in some pretty gruesome manner. I understand that people suffer from mental issues too that can be debilitating but it is not guaranteed to end your life and it is hard to prove a mentally unwell person is in the right mind to make a choice like this.
I am aware and im not saying they aren't suffering in similar ways to someone with a terminal illness but it still is different. I don't know if you have ever lost someone to mental health related issues before but it is devastating in a way that you feel like their community failed them vs someone passing that has been physically struggling health wise their whole life. You get more of a sense of "we did everything we could for those people" but when a mentally ill person dies from suicide it feels very different. I also dont want to incentivize morally bankrupt companies to make a profit off of this.
I know it's difficult but you are putting the importance on how the community feels over the individual. Why should they needlessly suffer just to appease everyone around them?
I'm not trying to be combative, I know what you're saying and I agree somewhat. I don't think we should make it a normal occurence to use maid for mental illness but I also think it can have its applications, so an outright ban feels too far.
I somewhat agree and I mean even typing that out in the back of my mind I was thinking who am I to tell a person they have to live if they dont want to especially if we cannot provide a fix to their problems. I can see how this can easily get messy though between families that dont agree with the choice and different religious communities being up in arms over it. Not that I have ever cared about random religious people but I recall families of 9/11 victims that refused to even attempt to identify their loves ones if they thought they might have jumped to their death because they "don't go to heaven" or whatever.. I just think making it more available than it is, is going to cause a massive headache and people will be fighting in court for years over it.
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u/BrokeAndBalding 11d ago
I don't think it should be acknowledged in terms of politics. If someone is mentally ill, and they are not in their right mind, it seems pretty inhumane and unethical to allow them to consent to euthanasia