On the other hand there is still a broad streak of conservatism; consider that 29% of Americans don't think divorce is "morally acceptable," and 32% say the same about extra-marital sex.
The wide gap between acceptance of "suicide" vs. "doctor assisted suicide" is a bit of a puzzle. I imagine that most people are thinking, not about the presence of an MD, but whether we're talking about a dying person.
"The wide gap between acceptance of "suicide" vs. "doctor assisted suicide" is a bit of a puzzle. I imagine that most people are thinking, not about the presence of an MD, but whether we're talking about a dying person."
ReplyDeleteWell to most people, I imagine the key distinction between "suicide" and "doctor assisted suicide" is the terminality of a case.
With ordinary suicide, we're talking about a desire for death that is caused by cureable mental illnesses which doctors can treat and overcome. With doctor assisted suicide, we're talking maladies that have no cure and can effectively result only in death.
Doctors are sworn to save life where possible, and to limit suffering where not possible. Ordinary suicide is entirely preventable with treatment, so any worthwhile doctor would attempt to get it cured. Terminal cases cannot be cured, so doctors are left only with the options of drugging a patient beyond the capacity to suffer until they die on their own, or helping them to bring on the inevitable earlier. Given the costs of treatment many terminal cases incur, and the burden caring for them places on families and society, there is a strong logical, moral, and philosophical case for assisting those who wish to forgo that suffering in ending their lives early.