Posted on 06/02/2006 4:05:58 PM PDT by wagglebee
This is disgusting beyond words.
A culture of death. The Swiss must be DemocRATS.
Maybe we can lure Bin Laden there...
DISCUSSION ABOUT:
Switzerland Refuses to Alter Assisted Suicide Law to Nix Death Tourism
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Culture of Death Ping.
This could be very expensive for the Swiss. What happens if lots of people come into the country for the purpose of committing assisted suicide, but they lack the funds to return their bodies to their countries of origin?
I am speechless.
It would be cheaper to book a flight to Iraq.
Just walk down any street in Bahgdad with a cartoon of Mohammed pinned to your shirt.
The locals will do you for free. No waiting.
The Disneyland of Death!
I would bet the cost of the "termination" includes the cost of disposal. A quick cremation and the roses in front of the docs office get a good ash soil amendment.
I'm sure the "efficient" Swiss have taken the return trip money up front.
Everyone has the right to choose to die, just as they have the right to choose to live.
It's very difficult to punish those who choose to die because they're dead.
We can punish those who help them die. But punishing those who commit suicide is ridiculous, and punishing those who attempt it on their own is equally indefensible.
If sacrificing one's life in a noble cause is something to be praised, then choosing to end one's life because of other circumstances becomes a grey area. One doesn't need to be suffering from a terminal illness to have permanent unbearable pain with no prospects for any relief. Old age with advanced infirmities might be enough for some people to throw the towel in early.
I'm not defending death tourism in the least. I'm only suggesting that it's understandable why some people might not want to suffer to the bitter end.
I imagine I'll get blasted on this thread for expressing this thought, and that's okay. But I don't accept the notion of moral absolutes, at least as we can express them. If there's any time when someone can willingly sacrifice their life for a good reason, the door has already been opened.
You're no longer talking about life. You're talking about which reasons are good.
Well, you won't be blqsted by me...
You are perfectly right...
"The Swiss must be DemocRATS"
Really? I wasn't aware that the U.S. Democratic party had an active subsidiary in the Swiss Confederation. Perhaps you know something about the inner workings of the Democratic party that I don't.
You know, I've noticed that those who are comfortably ensconced in their armchairs often have detailed knowledge about the inner workings of organizations that they're not involved with.
Amazing, but true.
I'm not going to "blast" you, I'm simply going to state that I think your analysis is wrong. There is a significant moral difference between "sacrificing oneself" such as in a battle, and committing suicide.
The "sacrificing oneself" that I think you're talking about would be a scenario such as throwing oneself on a hand grenade to protect one's compatriots. Such an analogy forgets that someone else threw the hand grenade with the intent of killing. The person who commits the sacrifice is responding to that malevolent act. Their intent was not to kill oneself, it was to save others.
Suicide, on the other hand, is an act committed with the intent of killing oneself. It's a final denial of God's grace and of hope.
Obviously, you can't punish someone who has committed suicide, at least in the secular sense. And it's not left to us to decide whether someone who has committed suicide will be "punished" in the hereafter. What happens in the hereafter is left to our Lord.
Where I view this as a "moral absolute" is the fact that this is a suicide industry. It's an industry that profits from human despair, and profits from the death of fellow human beings. Morally, I don't view it much differently than I would view operating an oven at Auschwitz.
That the individuals in pain and despair seek death "voluntarily" in Switzerland is of little consequence. Many of the internees in the death camps eventually sought death, and were all too willing to go when it was time. That did not render those who killed them any less culpable.
The Nazis did it for hate, and yes, for profit. The suicide industry does it for profit, and yes, for hate.
It's hard to see the moral absolute there. Perhaps you can.
I can pretty easily place most, and maybe all, assisted suicide into "wrong under any circumstance" category. But I think there can be times when dying sooner voluntarily might be the best choice if all your options are horrible.
That's better. They act like *some* Democrats.
Thank you for having the grace to apologize. It reflects well on your character. And I, in turn wish to apologize to you in case you found my post unreasonably harsh.
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