The value of a life, of my life, is determined by me.

With the "death with dignity" debate in the forefront of social issues this week, you could have guessed that i have my take on the whole thing.

Of all the flawed points being made on this issue, the one that i loathe the most is the assertion that, because I support an individual's choice to end their own life for any reason they see fit, that somehow i lack an appreciation for "the value of human life" and am somehow existing on some lower plane where i would casually choose to end someone's life.

This argument is flawed on every conceivable level.   First, no one in this debate, no one with an informed opinion on this issue, is talking about taking the liberty to end someone ELSE'S life.   The entire situation in "death with dignity" operates nowhere NEAR that assertion.  So, you fail on that point.

Lastly, the idea that, because I support this concept and practice 100%, without restrictions, I somehow place a lesser value on human life, is the ultimate fail in any argument against this.   The fact that YOU apparently define "life" as someone having a pulse, a positive blood pressure, and electrical activity, and i clearly define "life" as the quality of the life being lived, as defined BY the person who is considering this option, in my mind, clearly gives ME the moral high ground in this argument, as my level of respect for the individual, their choices, and their own perceptions of life, in and of itself, is what should define the availability of such an option.

And for the physicians who struggle with providing access to such options, know this.  Your primary tenet is simple and straightforward.   "Do no harm".   In the case of the terminally ill, at least, prolonging their existence against their will while the quality of their life and life's interaction decays and deteriorates, can be framed as nothing less than the ultimate harm being perpetrated against your patient.

Finally, i have yet to hear one argument against this which is not either nuanced with some superstitious woowoo or directly nailed to the crucifix of foolish religious beliefs.   So, as you can guess, any position based on anything resembling this, is nullified by default.


Yeah.  That.