Assisted Suicide, Population Issues
Ian & Pam Dorion dorioni@ipa.net
Sat, 08 Nov 1997 17:27:58 -0600 (00879053278, 3464F57E.7D42@ipa.net)
Claire E. O'Connor wrote:
>
> > > I think 4 million dollars against an assisted-suicide initiative was
> > > money very well spent. What I find tragic is that the Catholic Church
> > > lost this one. I dread the future if assisted suicide becomes
> > > commonplace. The ones who will be expected to commit suicide will most
> > > likely be the poor who cannot afford good insurance. Also, I would guess
> > > that women would be more likely to feel pressure to commit suicide, so
> > > they won't be a "burden" to anyone. Most of the good Dr. Kevorkian's
> > > "patients" have been women.
> > >
> > > The Catholic Church has been far from perfect, but it does have a record
> > > of helping the needy find food, clothes and shelter.
> > >
> > > Claire O'Connor
> >
> > IAN
> >
> > Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with you. I for one feel that ANYONE
> > who wishes to die should be allowed to for whatever reason. Why should
> > anyone be forced to suffer through a painful death when a physician can
> > help them end it peacefully? Christians have more empathy for a dying
> > dog than they have for one of their own kind.
> >
> > What you forget (or ignore) Claire, is that there are almost 6 billion
> > people on this planet. Many of them are here because of the Pope and
> > people like Mother Teresa. I don't know how much food, clothing,
> > medicine and education the Catholic church is contributing to Africa but
> > it damn sure isn't enough to keep the people from starving to death.
> >
> > I suppose you feel it is better that these people have lived their short
> > miserable lives than to have not lived at all but I don't agree with
> > you.
> >
> > I'm glad there are men like Jack Kervorkian with the balls to help
> > people end their miserable existence and I'm also happy that your
> > miserable God is too impotent to do anything about it.
>
> Claire's comments:
>
> Ian, I am well aware that there are many people who don't agree with me.
> That does not make me wrong. If your view prevails, we will have a lot
> of people feeling pressured to commit suicide so as not to be a burden.
IAN
Few if any people would feel PRESSURED to commit suicide so as not to be a
burden. If you have statistics on this show them but I have not heard of any.
CLAIRE
> I also think that widespread assisted suicide will reduce the incentives
> to come up with new medical treatments - why bother when you can just
> kill off the patient?! With all this cost containment going on, why
> would people dare to demand the latest medical treatment (unless they
> can pay for it themselves) when suicide is offered as an "option"? The
> wealthy will have access to good medical treatment; the poor and middle
> class will just have to commit suicide. Even a wealthy person may feel
> pressured to commit suicide so as not to reduce the amount of money
> available to his or her heirs.
IAN
Some of what you say is true but is it necessarilly bad? As I said, there are
almost 6 billion people in this world and they are destroying this planet at a
rapid pace. What is the point in spending all this money in the last year or
two of a persons life just to keep him/her alive and miserable? Why should a
family have to spend every last dime they have and go into debt for years to
come to keep someone miserable? I'm 67 years old and try to take reasonably
good care of myself. I would hate to see the doctors and lawyers end up with
what little I've saved and leave my wife penniless.
CLAIRE
> Some seriously or terminally ill people wish to commit suicide because
> they are clinically depressed or they fear pain. Well, depression is
> treatable, and pain can be managed. There is a lot of research going on
> in pain management. But why even bother doing research in pain
> management or depression when the person is just expected to commit
> suicide?
IAN
Let those who have the money pay for the research. Why should you, the Catholic
Church or anyone else tell me what to do with my life? No doctor is forced to
help a person to commit suicide any more than any doctor is forced to perform
an abortion. Stop trying to force your will on other people.
CLAIRE
> Now for the population explosion: Throwing abortion or contraceptive
> services at people is not going to reduce the birth rate unless the
> underlying incentives to have many children are removed.
IAN
Now where did you get this idea from? Why would a person use a contraceptive or
have an abortion if there were incentives to have many children?
CLAIRE
First and
> foremost, the death rate of children under 5 must be reduced. Parents
> who see that their children are likely to die early will have a lot of
> children just to ensure that at least a few survive.
IAN
I would like to know where you got this idea from also. There are men in
some parts of the world who believe the more children you have, the more of a
man you are. What, by the way is the death rate for children under five? Where?
I would be willing to bet the biggest reason for a high birth rate is the Pope
and other religious and political leaders like him. If people have children
because the children they have are not likely to live, why in the Hell would
they have an abortion or use a contraceptive. Who's been brainwashing you
Claire?
CLAIRE
For the cost of one
> abortion, you could vaccinate hundreds of children against easily
> preventable diseases, thus reducing their death rate. Leaving aside
> "morality", abortion is simply not a viable method of birth control in
> developing countries. Another problem is that children are viewed as
> "assets" who can work when they are still very young and earn money for
> their families. If children are banned from working and are instead
> required to attend school, they will no longer be viewed as financial
> assets, and this will reduce the incentive for parents to have many
> children.
> IAN
Well, I agree with most of what you say here at least. Yes, the price of one
abortion could pay for many vacinations OR contraceptives but it won't pay much
in the way of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education. Why don't
you write to Pope John-Paul and tell him that when he visits these third world
countries he should speak out against child labor instead of abortion and
contraception. If he did I might be able to say something nice about him.
> -Claire O'Connor