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I'm not really sure his right to die in the wilderness is what's most pertinent about his case though. Those of us who have wilderness experience should caution others who don't to prepare and educate themselves, instead of just going for it and seeing what happens. Because what often happens is a lengthy search and rescue process, and sometimes PTSD or death. Maybe that's what he wanted, but I kind of doubt it.

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The question isn't what he should or shouldn't have done. That part is crystal clear. The question is why do people feel entitled to moral indignation on account of someone hiking out alone into the wilderness. The arguments so far have not been convincing - it costs money to fly them out, it puts SAR in danger.

We are social animals. Raising one person takes a lot of work from their parents, caregivers, teachers, friends -- "It takes a village to raise a child", proverb says. This is why just letting someone fall off the cliff (on their own will or not) is not in the interest of the society as a whole.

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