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Comment by jopsen | Hacker News Reader

In some countries (like NL) assisted suicide is only allowed when certain criteria is met, such a terminal illness with no chance of improvement, etc.

Having seen some of my grandparents slowly fade with dementia, I'm sad they didn't have the choice to end it on their terms. Whether they would have chosen to do so I don't know.

But the individual freedom to end your own pointless suffering seems very reasonable to me.

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Dementia is a good example - how far gone can someone be before they are no longer able to request death? At present, you cannot be diagnosed until you have already suffered enough decline to have seen a doctor about it. Most people think the difference between suicide and euthanasia is that euthanasia is requested with a "sound mind," but the cases where euthanasia seems the most opportune are those where no sound mind is available.

Exactly. Even if you try to make the decision ahead of time with a sound mind, where do you draw the line? And even if the line is drawn, what happens if you change your mind later but you're in the late stages? Which "you" gets precedence?

Perhaps you would plan ahead with a "living will" if those are available to you that states in the event that you are determined to no longer be capable of managing your affairs that you be euthanized.

I am planning to set one up soon though I will hopefully have a few more decades ahead of me. It will specifically state that in the event I can no longer manage my affairs I wish to be transported to the nearest locale in which I can have my life ended.

> It will specifically state that in the event I can no longer manage my affairs I wish to be transported to the nearest locale in which I can have my life ended.

Ha ha, "manage my affairs"... maybe give yourself a slightly longer rope :)

My grandmother sure can't do her own taxes, but she has no illness - she's just old, and world has changed around her.

Assuming you have well behaved kids, you'll likely stop managing your affairs long before you loose your health.

Nothing is every perfect -- neither is dying slowly. But we have reasonable legal frameworks for refusing treatment already (even in cases of dementia, where a guardian makes the decision). We can build reasonable frameworks for making assisted suicide decisions too.

And should these frameworks have flaws we can improve them.

I won't outline a proposal here, but it's not rocket science to require a paper signed while of sound mind, and then giving a guardian permission to pull the plug later. It's not rocket science to limit it to people with fatal conditions, etc.

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