Kpax

...to force us to live?

By this I mean making euthanasia illegal. Not only do I think it should be accessible by the terminally ill and elderly, but to anyone who wants a painless, graceful death.

As the government prohibits euthanasia, or MD-assisted suicide, thus keeping us from anesthesia and the other peaceful and painless methods of death, in a way you might say the government is responsible for the suffering of those who had to resort to more violent and gruesome means. Am I right?

If euthanasia were a business, it would be a multi-billion dollar business. Sure it would be hindered by fanatics who would bomb clinics hypocritically just to get their "point" across, thereby putting bystanders in danger, but it should be legal and accessible. If the government cannot guarantee our happiness or fair treatment, it shouldn't be able to hinder our choice of death.

Oh, and that brings up another point: In a way, the government is responsible for all of those who are suffering permanent disabilities that are due to an attempted suicide gone wrong. They are responsible for any mental illnesses that have resulted from such a failure, and responsible for any mental illnesses on the part of any citizen who has lived unhappy and been unable to do anything about it. Just think, if a person knew a painless death were available, would they put up with a life they have constant calamity with, just to have their mental faculties broken and to find themselves apart from sanity? Euthanasia should be legal...... to anybody over, say, 18.

archetypal fool

I disagree on most of the points you bring up. In the case of terminally ill people, I agree, but we veer in different direction on the other issues.

I've been through times where I've been so depressed I honestly think I would've committed suicide if given the chance (almost succeeded once). I've been in that state of mind twice, in fact. But, here I am, happy as a clam. Things turned around both times, and I know my case isn't unique.

If the government allowed and facilitated suicide, many people would needlessly die, even if by their own will.

Put yourself in the shoes of a loved one of the person who commits suicide. How would you feel if you won't be able to experience that person again? I don't know if it's just me, but if a friend of mines was to kill himself, I would be tormented, because then I wouldn't be able to hang out with that person. Imagine never seeing your brother's face again, and why? Money problems? Rocky relationship? Lost his job? All things which shouldn't be reasons to end life; things which can be fixed, or otherwise resolved.

And so what if they wanted to die? It's a selfish action; you're spared of all the pain and suffering you feel you're victim to, but you deeply hurt the people who love you deeply; this weird empathy is what stopped me from ending things, and I'm sure it's a deterrent to many others as well.

And as for the elderly, I think to them every day is precious. Every day has the potential of making a person deeply grateful for life; hearing news of family, a grandson's graduation, a wedding; all these things make people appreciate life, and even the grumpiest old man in the world would probably shed a tear upon hearing that his child is expecting one of his own. But of course, what do I know? I'm not in in an old man's state of mind yet...

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I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

Willravel

This is a terribly difficult question that I've gone over many many times in my head. I've come to the conclusion that I personally believe that the government should allow a person to have control over their own life as a part of the ideal of liberty. I also think that this particular issue has some connections to the death penalty, where the government has taken it upon itself to control life.

So my answer is no, the government shouldn't have the right to take one's life or prevent someone from taking their life. That has to be an individual choice.

Good topic.

Taltos

I absolutely agree to this. The one basic human right, above any other, should be how and when and for what we'd be willing to lay down, voluntarily, our most cherished possession, that of our life. The Right to Die, is perhaps our most important right, being more basic and underlying many other fundamental 'rights', including such things as health, love, freedom, and religion.

No one has the right to take the life of another, but each person should have the right to lay down their own lives for a reason they believe in, even if others, even if their own family, friends, neighbors, government, or chuch, do not believe. Perhaps it is a matter of illness, or depression, or something more abstract like honor, but a person should have the right to give up their own life.

I agree to all of this, only insofar that it is heartbreaking and tragic and very, very moving. I don't believe that the friend or loved one in this example, however, has a right to say, "You should suffer your misery so that I don't feel bad."

It's a tragic situation either way, and no one wants more tragedy. But you don't solve society's problems by taking away people's rights and dictating how they should live, think, and feel. Well, I guess some people do...

If you don't want your loved one's to take their life, that's fine. No one begrudges you for that. There are ways to help them that don't involve coercive force. But literally forcing someone to live, to endure beyond a hardship they don't find worthwhile (even if its just the act of everyday living without knowing what lies beyond death) is wrong.

__________________
Though we are not now
That strength that in old days
Moved Earth and Heaven;
That which we are, we are:
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and flesh
But strong in will
To seek, to strive, to find
And not to yield.
-Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The_Jazz

You lost me here.

Do you really think that there are hundreds of thousands of people lining up to kill themselves? Seriously?

If there are 100,000 of them, they'd have to be charged $20,000 each to make it a multi-billion dollar industry.

If you charge a flat $100 fee, which is much more reasonable, that's $10,000,000. Why in the world is an industry that's going to cap out at $10,000,000 in potential gross revenue try to overcome the ingrained biases in this society to create itself?

None of this is to say that I agree at all with any of your other points. The government is in no way responsible because someone takes the coward's way out. Those that do, fail and become a burden on society are most likely numbered in the low 1,000's, so I doubt they place a great strain on the finances of the state.

In other words, your numbers make no sense.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

archetypal fool

Ok, but by forcing someone to live, you're giving their lives the chance to change; and it's true, they may not be happy about it for now, but if or when things turn around and they suddenly become happy, you can bet they would be glad they didn't kill themselves.

We can all agree life is unpredictable, and shit happens. Like I said before, things turned around for me, and I have no doubt in my mind that situations turn around for others as well. If the government facilitated the act of suicide, I would not be here today, happy, normal. The same can be said for many other people.

__________________
I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

Baraka_Guru

There is more to this issue. Assisted suicide is subject to abuses and corruption, as with any other "regulated" service. Any government's reluctance to legalize euthanasia is not based solely on the concept of liberty and the idea of "the right to die." Can criminals exercise their right to die, even when they do so to avoid judgement? What if parents, through corruption, "professionally" euthanize their physically or mentally disabled children to avoid having to take care of them? Could you imagine the lawsuits against doctors having euthanized "patients" who didn't tell anyone their wishes?

This topic goes beyond individual rights to choose life or death. When you bring other people into the picture, it becomes a very difficult matter.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

CSflim

Wow. Just think of the tv advertising campaigns that could be dreamed up....

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archetypal fool

I'd suppose much like those for Quietus from Children of Men.

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I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. ~H.A. Overstreet

hrandani

In my opinion the options available to those who are considering suicide should be more widely available and this would go hand in hand if some sort of pre euthenasia counseling was available, much like the US government is handing out to women going for abortions. While it is despicable that in some cases they are outright eliminating the option, it is considerate to show all the options and give counseling on which path to take. Ultimately a lot more people would get their kit together quicker, and I think very few would actually still take the option. This is borne out by the extremely low rates of suicide success, especially for women. They don't really want to die they just want help.

jbw97361

If someone really wants to die, what is stopping them?

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JBW

Ourcrazymodern?

It does seem a little hypocritical that we can't kill ourselves if we want to do so, yet can be sent away to die for other people's reasons.

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BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

Willravel

If someone finds out about it, the police can stop you.

BigBob234

This kinda cracked me up. "Dude, I went over to Stan's Suicides but the wanted, like, $175 to do it. That's WAY too much money. There's no way, in hell, I'm paying over $100 to kill myself!"

Plan9

I think the most noble society would be one that allows you to control the end of your own life by allowing you complete control of your own body.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

lankrypt0

I agree, but unfortunately I can't see that happening until religion is removed from society. You would have too many people protesting that anyone doing X is wrong because Y holy book says it is.

Kadath

I think the suicide booths from Futurama are the way to go.

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it's quiet in here

lankrypt0

Good idea! And who knows, you might just meet a best friend there!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8gjhdL1A1Y

Jinn

I don't give a fuck how much you want to die, how much pain you're in, or how much your life sucks. I don't want you to kill yourself. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't give a damn. And I'd support any legislation that forbids you from doing so.

As a person whose best friend shot himself in the head with an AK47, and whose new best friend's father killed himself, I don't think that suicide is ever an option. I don't really care if it's selfish for me to keep you alive.

Once again, my opinion is in the minority.. Here goes...

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Plan9

Thoughtless statement: Just as long as you don't blame the AK-47.



Don't it always seem to go... that you don't know what you got 'til its gone.

Suicide obeys the law of conservation, it is just a transfer of pain... from one person to many. Pain cannot be created or destroyed, it just changes forms.

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Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Kadath

lankrypt0

Honestly, that Bender tries to cheat the suicide booth is one of my favorite jokes of the series. Sounds like we should get those suicide booths sometime next year.

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it's quiet in here

lankrypt0

[DERAIL]

Absolutely, that or when he hooks up with the Probulator when Fry gets the job at the Cryoengineering lab. Actually, the whole series is pretty damned good, the only episode I can't watch, and will turn off is "Jurassic Park" where Fry finds his dog fossilized. The ending almost brings me to tears every time. The though of my own dog doing that just gets to me.

[/DERAIL]

Jinn

Definitely not. Guns don't kill themselves, people do.

Was a stupid fucking decision on his part, and I'd do anything I could to make it harder for him to make such a poor decision (or anyone, for that matter).

Suicide is such a waste.. at the very least, it's much more likely your organs can be used for donation while you're alive..

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

Hektore

Assisted suicide and euthanasia are not synonymous. Assisted suicide is when you take your own life, with instructions and/or tools provided by someone else. Euthanasia is having someone 'put down'. It would be extremely difficult to abuse an assisted suicide program given that the person perform the action themselves.

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The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.

ItWasMe

I am going to share your minority status. I'm also in the minority that hopes religion doesn't come to pass.

Much to my dismay, physician assisted suicide IS legal in at least one state. Part of the argument, when it was being voted on, was that doctors were afraid to give dying patients enough pain medication to make life bearable. I think they should have the pain relief they need. For me, if a terminally ill patient accidentally dies from their pain meds, that is one thing. And if a doctor/family decide to allow a dying family member to die of 'natural causes' and turn off the support machine, that is one thing. But for doctors to intentionally hasten death, that is an entirely different matter for me.

When assisted suicide was on the ballot, it seemed it was being discussed everywhere. Opponents worried that it was the first step towards euthanasia. Proponents said that was ridiculous. Now many of those same proponents are arguing that having the doc prescribe the killer meds is not enough. Because by the time the "patient" is able to go receive them, they are sometimes too far gone to do the deed themselves. Now I am hearing support of actual euthanasia, which is exactly what I feared most when 'assisted' became legal. If that becomes legal, are we then going to vote on who gets to decide whether a person is euthanised? Are families going to decide to hasten death to save inheritance money? (sounds ridiculous, but hey so did possible euthanasia). Will the government decide so that the government-paid medical bills don't pile up?


I don't know about y'all, but when I'm old I don't want anyone to have the right to kill me. And I plan on being a very, very crazy, grouchy and difficult old woman!!

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . .


"Ok, no more truth-or-dare until somebody returns my underwear" ~ George Lopez

I bake cookies just so I can lick the bowl. ~ ItWasMe

medlar

There are so many debated social questions that evolve around choices and people either get very emotional about these questions especially when religon comes into the equation. Like abortion, gay marriages, and giving people the right to die, which are the most immediate ones that come to mind especially since my move to Canada. Example: A Canadian took his terminally ill wife, under her consent to Switzerland for her assisted death. Now he faces criminal charges in Canada. Someone grassed on him, someone who had no right to interfere.

But you have to respect everyones opinions even if you're on the complete opposite side of the scale.

I believe people should be able to do what the want with their lives, and they should do so inspite of anyone elses' opinion. I don't mean criminal acts of course..I support this in saying euthenasia is a more humane way of dealing with death, I know I wouldnt wish a prolonged and painful death if I knew it was expected at any time. I wouldnt want that on any family member to sit by and watch a love one slowly and painfully pass away. If you are found sane and in reasonable control of your mental facilities by a cerified psychologist, neurologist..psychiatrist, and your condition is diagnosed and confirmed by a team of doctors then you should be allowed to make your own decision.

In my opinion there shouldn't be laws preventing people from taking their own lives or others assisting them and by those I mean in the same league as Kavorchian (sp. sorry) But there should be a regulation, focussing on the terminally ill, not based on suicide or being ill and in pain from a curable but serious disease. If there is a possible chance of survival in years maybe.

I would want any family member to respect my wish and do as I ask them regardless of their moral stance. I'd go to a court in a gurney if I had to.

pan6467

The government and religion have no right to dictate to us how we need to die. If I am terminal and everyday is more painful then the last and I can't function the way I want to then I would wish to die on MY terms. Why would I want my loved ones and people who care about me, to have their last memory of me as a painfilled, weakened dying person?

I wouldn't. In fact I would probably have a party with my closest friends and people I loved the most, get drunk, enjoy myself to the best of my ability and then when I go to bed, down a handle full of Oxys, dose out on whatever. That way, they remember me as I wanted to be remembered and they can be at peace and not have to mourn me. Whereas, everyday I live they are in pain and mourning me because of the pain I go through.

And I would understand a loved one doing the same. To me, suicide/assisted death for terminal cases is not a selfish act, it is natural. The only reason we keep people alive in terminal cases is for the medical $$$$$$$.

In nature, or even for those of you who have dogs and cats, you see animals that will starve themselves, kind of pull away become solitary and wanting to be left alone.... it's because they are dying. They know it and accept it. It's instinct to leave loved ones with memories of your strengths and accomplishments than your weaknesses and having had to watch you die.

I am not saying loved ones have to do this, I understand the love for life that makes you hold on till that last second also.

It's just none of government or religions business. Nowhere in my contract of life with my God/Goddess does it state I need to judge others and force them to live longer than they wish to. I don't think anyone else was given that job in their contract either.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Bashmeol

I was depressed once really bad when I was younger, I don't think it was the to the point where I wanted to commit suicide or anything but I was definetly in a bad state.

While I beleive personal freedoms are very important, I also belevie that people can make bad decisions. I don't want to try and prevent you from fufilling what you want to do but I see it that if you were just to give it a little bit of time you might change your mind. To me, to commit suicide is just wasting your life, try to be thankful for the things you can do because there are alot of people in worse situations (the sick, poor, imprisoned). Often I think suicide is just a result of people feeling sorry for themselves, they want to avoid their problem and take the easy route out.

While I cannot testify that this would work, I have read in places that distracting yourself from your own problems and helping others with theirs can help (Although I could see this going the opposite direction in some cases).

Religion dosen't have any buisness in this because this is a govermental affair. Nowhere in the world does it say you have to be a good person, but most people try to be a "good" person because they care about others. If someone was a tad depressed wouldn't you AND that person feel better if you could help them out of their problem instead of just letting them kick the bucket?

What I have said above does not include the terminaly sick and others who are very close to death and in great suffering.

pan6467

The topic is based on euthanasia, not someone depressed and wanting to die because some guy/gal left them, that was how I answered.

If we want to talk suicide by depression, okay, let's do.

I am a drug and alcohol counselor, I work with people everyday. (Those are my credentials, not worth much but .....)

I know what it is like to be so depressed and feel the world is totally against you and wanting to die. I learned how to get out of that, plus most of the time, I was crying out for attention. (My personal experience.)

Now, if someone is depressed to the point they want to take their own life, there is plenty of help out there, hell just a 911 to the local police will do the job. But if someone wants to truly take their own life because they are so depressed, so tired of living with whatever mental pain they have, who am I to pass judgement on them?

Did they take the easy way out? Don't know, don't care.

My personal history leads me to the belief that if someone jumps off a skyscraper, takes a gun to their head, etc. they were far more serious than I ever could be or was.

Too me what's the difference between a deepened depression that one cannot get out of and causes them to decide to take their life and someone bed ridden with a cancer riddled body in excruciating pain?

To say mental anguish is never as bad as physical pain is bullshit to me. Sometimes the mental is worse than any physical pain could ever be, and if you live with that mental pain for too long, death maybe the only answer, as with euthanasia.

Doesn't mean I condone it, just that I understand and don't think anyone needs to pass judgement on those that do kill themselves, until you know their pain.

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Reese

There's a few things in my life worth living for. When those are go away, so will I. Good luck stopping me, bitches! Fortunately, Those things aren't ever going to go away. I think assisted suicide should be legal for terminally ill patients. As for people that just wanna die for whatever reason, If they can convince a psychiatrist they're are sane enough to make the decision to kill themselves they should be allowed to. That's the catch 22 though, since according to any shrink, no sane person would want to die.

Did anyone notice the Suicide Booth in Futurama had been in service since 2008?

__________________
“It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

Cynthetiq

"I'll kill any person, any way for twenty-nine nintey-five! Riiiiiiight!"

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Deltona Couple

THIS statement is what worries me that you are a counselor. Suicide should NEVER be an answer. I am not exactly the model Christian here, but in the eyes of God if you ARE Christian, suicide is a VERY quick ticket to Hell. That is the final sin that a person can commit that is considered unforgivable in the eyes of God. I have been in some SERIOUS situations, as others have said, that suicide would have been the easy way out. but my faith had me hold on, and now I am in a place in life that I am VERY happy with my family and the way things are generally headed. I keep picturing where I was when I was at my lowest....Single dad, two daughters, no job, no money, lost my home, lost my car... I was at the point where I had considered that my life was over....It was so easy to think to end it. but I held on...and met my current Wife Crystal....now I have a loving home, a good job, 2 cars, a new home, and we are working on having a new child of our own. My son has joined the Army, and my oldest daughter is slated to go to Annapolis Naval Academy! I can't even IMAGINE that I thought about something like that so many years ago....

Sorry, but I just can't see the need in suicide, assisted or not. One must ALWAYS have faith. Miracles DO happen....they happen every day when a new child is born...a couple gets married...a parent watches their child go to college, or get a job for the first time...and the best miracle of all? looking at your child and seeing that smile that just makes EVERY problem in the world melt away, even if just for two seconds. Life is too precious.

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"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison

pan6467

If you show me all the things I have, you have worked with me and done everything you could think of and I still jump off the Empire State Building.... was it because of you and what you didn't do, or was it me?

As a counselor, you have to realize not everyone can be saved and there are a few that you will lose, irregardless of how much time, effort and caring you put into helping them.

You cannot take out that one sentence and use it without using the previous and next sentences with it for the meaning I presented.

All I'm saying is if someone who wants to take their life so bad that they do, I will not judge them. I am not going to damn them, speak badly about them, etc. It isn't in the job description part of my life's contract with God.

Miracles do happen, lives do get better, but some people no matter how hard someone tries to help, they can never see or believe a better life can be had.

__________________
I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

Plan9

Hell, I wanna die already.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

Val_1

I don't believe the government has the right to outlaw euthanasia. Euthanasia is legal in much of the world. However, I don't think the US government has what it takes to it. As long as politicians pander to vocal special interest groups that feel it their duty to legislate everyone else's behavior, it will always be illegal. In Gallup Polls 60% of Americans were in favor of it, but only Oregon has been progressive enough to legalize it. All I know is, if I ever get terminally ill, I plan on moving to Oregon.

And when I think of euthanasia, it do think of terminally ill people. Not someone that is depressed because they lost their job. I don't want to belittle losing your job and your house. It's pretty depressing. But going through hard times and dying in a really horrible lingering way are not the same thing. Faith in miracles and the burning fire of hell is fine. But, that is between you and your higher power. It is not between you and another person you don't know. And committing suicide when you have kids is a pretty despicable thing to do. Suicide is technically illegal, though I don't know why. Charging someone that is that depressed with a crime isn't going to help their problems any.

__________________

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.

-Frank Sinatra

joshbaumgartner

Being from Oregon, and there during the debate over this matter, I have given a lot of thought to the matter. The fact is that most states haven't been given the choice on the matter, with measure quashed by the legislature before being presented to the people. In Oregon it was put to the people--twice, in fact--and thus voted in, after only just barely getting through the legislature at first.

Personally I am fully supportive of the Oregon laws in this matter, as I think they very comprehensively handle the carrying out of euthanasia in a controlled and transparent manner that has, as far as I know, been done very much inline with the intent of the law (it provides for a hefty number of checks to ensure appropriate application).

I think primarily it is a matter of giving the police a basis for intervention in a suicide, as well as deterring anyone from assisting one. I haven't heard of a lot of cases of people being criminally charged with attempted suicide, although 'help' is at times mandated for folks.

Deltona Couple

I was not trying to only use the sentence out of content. I was SPECIFICALLY using the end of the sentence "...don't care" as sounding unconcerning. The above quote explains things more clearly, as that you won't condemn them, or speak badly. What concerned me was the "...don't care" statement.

As you have your opinion, I have mine. I feel that it would be a TERRIBLE waste if days after somone "euthanizes" themselves over a terminal illness, we find a cure for what ailed them. I am NOT saying that we have these miracle cures come out all the time....But I can't help thinking what if? Also, a large portion of my arguement is a religious thought, NOT a moral or "end the pain and suffering" viewpoint. Suicide in the CHRISTIAN world is unforgivable...EVEN if it's intent were to end a horrible, painful life.

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"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison

joshbaumgartner

This is debateable. As a Christian, I believe there is nothing 'unforgivable', for to claim such one would be putting limits on the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father. Alas though, I know that other Christians feel differently, and this is the real crux of the matter. This is why it is not something that should be legislated upon all, but instead it should be a matter of personal choice, which each individual can make in light of their own beliefs.

I understand that one may believe strongly in the evil of sin, and the temptation to wield the government's power of legislation to prevent or deter sin is great indeed. However, I believe the much wiser course is to leave matters of personal believe to individuals, as certainly I would not wish the government telling me that I couldn't do what I believe, merely because some other person believes it is a sin. Personally I believe drinking alcohol is a sin, but I don't agitate for prohibition. I believe smoking is a sin but I limit my legal basis for smoking limits to those necessary to protect others beside the smoker from harmful effects. I can list plenty more, but hopefully the point is clear: I don't think legislating morality is wise, as it is a two-way sword, and frankly also goes against my believe in free will.

Knetic

Suicide is surprisingly hard to do, nature has done a great job of restricting masochism. Most suicidally-motivated people have 1 or 2 unsuccessful tries, in which they reconsider, and decide against it. It's quite common.

But i consider a person's right to die as they choose their right. A person should have control of their life, if even only in an illusion. Death is most certainly part of life, and it's their right. If they're convinced by their family to live for the greater good (so the family won't suffer the loss), then so be it. But nobody should be forced to live in suffering, whether you or i believe it's suffering or not.

But of course, if a casual person wishes to die they can probably do it without being found out until the end. This is more about the terminally ill's right to end it quick.
Granted, of course, the terminally ill or disabled should have to continue to wish to die for a week or two before being let down. A person who accidentally fell and broke their back, for instance, will most likely want to die immediately after; since that's what they expected to do (during the fall) and can't imagine living without the use of their spine. Such shock would disrupt their logic, and so they should wait to die for an amount of time before being allowed to, so they can adjust to their new life and decide if they really wish to exit it so early.