Good idea, umgud. I just made a response which explained some of my reasoning, but I’ll see if I can get it all out there with this response.
Whether you believe in God or not, I think we all believe that America is all about freedom. You have a right to your life and no person under any circumstances is justified in taking that away from you. But if you have a right to your own life, which basically means you can make decisions for yourself as long as they don’t interfere the other people’s freedom, doesn’t that mean you have a right to end your own life?
It seems like a perfectly rational person, especially under the circumstances that Brittany endured, could easily come to the decision that he/she would want to end his/her life before suffering through immense pain. And I certainly don’t blame the person; I can’t imagine the terrible afflictions that the person would experience from something like brain cancer.
So this perfectly rational person, if they are truly free, should be able to decide to die whenever he/she pleases (so long as nobody is dependent on this person, such as a little boy or girl or something of that nature). It is this person’s right to do so, and if he/she can buy poison from a doctor to make the process painless in a safe environment, then why shouldn’t he/she be able to purchase that?
It just seems like people want to keep other people alive for their own reasons against that person’s free will. I understand why - dying is a terrifying thought. I also understand the religious reasons against it, and I have no qualms with that. But in a democratic country where religion doesn’t dictate the law outright, and its citizens are mostly free, then there seems to be no reason to object to somebody killing themselves before a disease does the job.
This is important and a basis for all freedoms and thought. We are not a democratic country. We are a Representative Republic. We vote for people that represent what we believe. Benjamin Franklin said "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."
Think about that. Do you see government running people's lives or the people running government? I see abuse.
“But if you have a right to your own life, which basically means you can make decisions for yourself as long as they don’t interfere the other people’s freedom, doesn’t that mean you have a right to end your own life?”
Assuming that’s true, why involve doctors, forms, the government, Obamacare, the media?
Oregon has assisted suicide, yes, but Oregon also has about the highest non-assisted suicide rate in the country, proving that you don’t need help from the collective.
It’s not suicide if it requires outside help.