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Comment by LoveMortuus | Hacker News Reader

I was going to write a comment about how I'm against euthanasia but after reading the article I'm not sure...

I still believe that suicide should never be the option and people that are considering it should really seek professional psychological help.

But I'm just a hypocrite, because I tried to kill myself many times and after seeking professional help, I didn't really feel like they did anything except helped some time pass, which probably helped a bit... I am here writing a comment~

The fact is that if euthanasia was an option for me, I would be dead. But because it wasn't, I just spent some time in the psychiatric ward.

Now my goal in life is financial freedom which should keep me busy for a decade or two, especially since I come from zero! (I'm ~3.75% done!)

I'm not a medical professional, actually am not a professional of any kind, so if you're suffering seek proper help, don't let your demons win!

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> I still believe that suicide should never be the option and people that are considering it should really seek professional psychological help.

It is weird to me that our society is so fixated on autonomy, self-sufficiency, bootstrapping, competition, and exploitation right up until someone has the desire to exit the whole thing. At that point they get just enough interest from others to keep them alive so they can continue feeding the sick system.

There are other ways to "exit the whole thing" besides death.

What other ways are those?

Relocate?

How much does it cost to relocate? More than housing?

Also, going to another city isn't somehow escaping the system we all live in

Another country could be cheaper.

And how would they get there if they can't afford housing in their area. You think they have money to move to another country? Do you know how expensive that is?

Toronto has a high cost of living compared to the rest of the world. Hotels there can easily cost thousands of dollars per week.

A plane ticket is probably one of the more expensive parts of relocating. If suicide has already been contemplated, the person also has the ability to let go of the vast majority of their possessions and condense their must-haves down to 1-2 suitcases.

It seems a bit goofy to me that a person with budgetary constraints in need of fresh air is trying to find a solution in the middle of one of the mostly densely populated and polluted cities in Canada.

Manufactured problem?

What makes you think someone who can't find a place to live for ten years can move to another country?

Relocate to where there's no jobs or relocate to where housing costs more and things are crazier?

Perhaps it's obvious but you went in the wrong direction.

When you die, you include many people in the aftermath whether you want to or not.

Doctors suffer from ethical qualms if they are forced by law to end the life of a depressed person.

This is why they aren't forced in any euthanasia cases I've heard of. Has this ever actually happened outside of totalitarian regimes? Genuine question.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/25/doctor-netherl...

In the EU, yes. People changing their mind (crazy or otherwise) being forced to die by ‘polite’ society.

Status quo bias. You affect people while you're living too.

"Keep dancing, otherwise you'll let everyone down" is not an exactly an encouragement.

> When you die, you include many people in the aftermath whether you want to or not.

I mean one can similarly cause them pain by just leaving them. There’s no obligation to stay in relationships with people because the counterfactual would be painful, I don’t see why there should be an obligation to live simply because it would be painful for others.

Everyone is always capable of stopping eating.

Is that an argument against voluntary euthanasia though?

My parents have both told me they would sooner die than go to a nursing home. Knowing them, I believe both that they mean it and that they would be utterly miserable in a nursing home. Obviously I would be distraught if it came to that, but how selfish would I have to be to tell them "no, you must go to this place that you'll hate because of the impact it will have on me if you die"?

I certainly think there should be controls. A waiting period, mandatory psych checkup to validate rationality and sound mind. If those (quite low) bars are cleared though, I don't see any reason that people shouldn't be able to choose to die.

To your second point, doctors don't necessarily need to be the vendors of legalised euthanasia.

A rheumatologist friend of mine once expressed that he is generally supportive of the idea of voluntary euthanasia, but believes this should involve creating some kind of "assisted dying professional" role. Asking doctors to euthanize people creates (as he put it) a kind of conflict of interest; the person who is there to help you live should not be the same person who can, if you choose, help you die.

I feel like you missed some qualification here:

> I still believe that suicide should never be the option

From the rest of your comment, it sounds like you were facing some form of severe but ultimately temporary problem.

People considering suicide are not necessarily in this same boat, and circumstances make all the difference.

To believe that suicide should "never" be the option suggests that you're only considering a subset of people who are in a similar situation to the one you faced. There are plenty of situations which give a reasonable expectation of permeance, or cause such severe suffering that while possibly temporary may not be worth enduring.

To me it comes down to the freedom to choose, for people of sound mind making a rational decision. I'm young, healthy, and generally happy, but there are absolutely situations which may affect me in the future over which I would prefer death, and I firmly believe I should have the freedom to make that choice if the time ever comes.

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