Questions Worth Answering

Tough questions, tough answers

Questions Worth Answering

If 
Then 
If someone claims his life has lost value and isn’t worth living anymore… 

 

… then can anyone’s life lose value simply by one’s own choosing? 

 

If someone says her dignity is diminished because she can no longer perform certain activities… 

 

… then does everyone lose dignity when they lose the ability to perform those same activities? 

 

If suicide is an irrational and tragic act… 

 

… then why is physician-assisted suicide a healthy reaction to suffering? 

 

If guardrails are touted by physician-assisted suicide advocates as guarantors of safety… 

 

… then why do they consistently try to remove these guardrails? 

 

If physician-assisted suicide is a reasonable approach to the fear of being a burden to our loved ones at the end of life…  

 

… then is it reasonable for us to kill ourselves whenever we’re a burden to our loved ones?

  

If healthcare organizations put profits over people with the opioid crisis, child transgender surgeries, and the smoking epidemic… 

 

… then why should we trust them to put people over profits when it is exponentially cheaper to offer patients physician-assisted suicide than care for them? 

 

If doctors make treatment recommendations based on their own judgements and biases… 

 

… then couldn’t they offer you poison if they think it’s best for you?  

 

If depression and anxiety make people prone to suicidal ideation and self-harm… 

 

… then isn’t depression a prime reason someone would choose physician-assisted suicide?  

 

If depression is a common occurrence after receiving a terminal diagnosis… 

 

… then shouldn’t we put more emphasis on psychiatric treatment when patients receive a terminal diagnosis, instead of physician-assisted suicide? 

 

If doctors occasionally misdiagnose life expectancy… 

 

… then isn’t it risky to rely primarily on life expectancy diagnoses to determine eligibility for physician-assisted suicide?  

 

If the main reason for physician-assisted suicide legislation is to offer the terminally ill an escape from suffering… 

 

… then why is unbearable suffering never a top reason provided by patients for choosing physician-assisted suicide? 

 

If the main reason behind physician-assisted suicide is to relieve suffering… 

 

… then what’s the harm in legalizing euthanasia as well?  

 

If death is generally seen as a bad thing, and if most patients’ complaints at the end of life are related to poor pain management and care… 

 

… then shouldn’t we try to fix palliative and hospice care first before normalizing people killing themselves prematurely? 

 

If helping someone commit suicide is widely seen as immoral and illegal… 

 

… then why is it okay if it’s done by a doctor? 

 

If euthanasia is illegal due to concerns over coercion and patient consent… 

 

… then why is physician-assisted suicide legal given the strong possibilities of coercion regarding patient consent? 

 

If murder and euthanasia are both the intentional killing of another person… 

 

… then how is euthanasia any different from murder? 

 

Click here for PDF download.