this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
90 points (90.9% liked)
Asklemmy
43903 readers
1153 users here now
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
Search asklemmy π
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
- Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
- Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
- An actual topic of discussion
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
- Lemmyverse: community search
- sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
- [email protected]: a community for finding communities
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
So with Exit, you need to have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist. So it probably takes some time, and that time has to be obviously paid. After that, a second psychiatrist checks the diagnosis for any errors. And the third actor is going to be a regular doctor, double checking for errors. If all goes well, you get the death cocktail. As things can go wrong with that, you should be accompanied by someone experienced. Exit provides this assistance free of charge, as they use donations and membership fees to pay for that.
I cannot tell you about what diseases are successful. Usually, psychological issues are not enough to get the diagnosis you need. You need to be heavily impacted by it and there has to be no cure.
I find it ridiculous that humans can't decide to end their life if they want to. It's crazy that the state has to allow it.
Washington state and New Jersey specifically allow certain types of euthanasia, but I'm not sure how illegal it is -- or any 'suicide' is -- in different places. Is euthanasia a crime in your state? Is (attempted) suicide?
Murdering someone **else ** is a crime, so it is nice to have laws specifying how a person can legally help someone without being charged with murder.
The U.S. has historically not 'punished' suicide as much more than a misdemeanor, if at all. From PDF paper from 1962:
England, on the other hand, was very hostile to suicide until it was decriminalized in 1961 (paper is too old to mention current status):
Expectations of success are actually part of what get people there in the first place
Oh, well there's a huge surprise... π
I mean you can, you just have to do it yourself.
They make it illegal to discourage it but there is nothing that can be done to stop it.
There's no good way to do it
You can always jump off a bridge
Sounds painful with a high possibility of breaking bones then drowning while conscious. I'd recommend an inert gas that's not CO2 and readily available, like nitrogen or something (CO2 buildup in the blood is what gives the sensation of suffocation). If you're worried about people finding you and a mess, get an enema and stay a bit dehydrated first, and also ensure your body's found within the first 2-3 days if possible (the first thing your corpse does is shit itself, and rot sets in pretty quickly).
This of course presumes you're making the decision to end yourself while of sound mind, not in some panic, feeling trapped or completely hopeless. There's usually a way out that's not as permanent and can lead to future positive interactions that make continued living worth the pain. That said, I'll never judge someone whose pain outweighs their will to live.
As a paramedic Iβd like to mention you should think about ants, as well.
Ants?
Carbon Monoxide, CO, can work in that regard, though I don't think it's readily available
A lot of people seeking euthanasia are in a very weak physical condition, in which getting by themselves and jumping from said bridge would be a feat. This includes people who are bedridden or who have temporary memory blackouts, you have people who would if only they were allowed to leave hospital or if their families would leave them alone to do so.
People seeking this usually aren't healthy, independent and self reliant. Those already jump the bridge.
Oh you are right, I didnβt even think of those people. Whenever I hear suicide i associate it with mental problems. When I think about it now, I probably wouldnβt want to live any longer if I was bedridden.
Correct. Essentially, you are not living anymore but are forced to by law and the desires of those around you who are more focused on their wants than your's. It's inhumane to ignore a plea for mercy, and yet that's what people do.
Overdosing is one of the easier options, but assisted suicide always requires assistance.
It is not the state. Those are regular professionals.
I partially agree that there should be a possibility to kill yourself in an easy way. But donβt forget that very often, this death wish is the cause of a mental illness, which can be treated.
A person can decide if they can execute it somehow. Or a person can hide yourself from the decision and say "the state does not allow me". And personal decisions are overrated. In the light of death usual rules stop working.