[Article] The lack of common decency (with regards to right to die) is a major contention for us

[TAW122]

There was a post by the user @Dejected 55 and it really resonated with me as I really agreed with it, therefore this thread is mainly about the current state of our prohibitive and anti-choice, pro-life society, world that we live in. Throughout time, I've written quite in-depth threads and articles about how the lack of the right to die on one's own terms is often the root of many problems and contentions that we (as pro-choicers) face in our day to day lives. This article will mainly state that fact and emphasize the fact that not only do we not have an positive right (a right that is provided by an entity, a entitlement), but also the fact that we also don't have a negative right (a right to not be impinged, intervened, or interfered with, a liberty).

In our pro-life, anti-choice society that we live in, not only is it superficial with a lot of fake concern (which is done under the guise of benevolence and often done so in bad-faith - oftenly to stop someone from exercising their bodily autonomy with respect to the right to die on one's own terms), it is also rather cruel too. While a lot of such values stem from religious roots, societal conditioning, and even just the innate fear of death itself, the fact that the lack of respect for one's right, especially the negative rights (civil liberties) pertaining to death by oneself on one's own terms, it results in a lot of the bad things that happen in today's real world society. Since people are not only not willing to help someone who is struggling, they are also actively (presuming they have knowledge preemptively, or beforehand) impeding one's willingness to die on one's own terms. This is not limited to the State's limitations on reliable and peaceful methods, but even most peers in the real world that will go to great lengths to scope out 'signs' not because they want to help the person who is suffering, but to project their values and feelings, ranging from guilt trips (don't do it! CTB is not the answer!) to as far as limiting one's freedom in the name of benevolent paternalism. It is one thing to not provide a positive right (the State not providing one a right to die, or means to do so), but it is even worse to actively limit it by interfering and intervening against one's negative rights (the right to not have one's privacy invaded, one's bodily autonomy and personal choice overridden, altered, violated against). While they claim it is done with benevolence, it is an overreach and certainly a paternalistic and insidious action.

In addition to this, they have little regard for the outcome or aftermath of intervention, and worse yet, they would double-down and justify their actions as being 'good', no matter the outcome. To put it another way, it the fact that they laud their actions and intervention, even if the person ends up in a worse situation; their original ailments or struggles not addressed nor resolved, but then they are left with worse outcomes, the stigma and mark of being intervened against, certain loss of civil liberties (especially in the US, the right to legally possess firearms), additional medical bills (also true in the US, especially for those who were detained, sectioned, or held for a short time), and of course, additional emotional and psychological trauma from the entire ordeal. This is where the lack of "common decency" refers to at least in my eyes. The common decency is of course, respecting one's negative liberty rights if not providing a positive right, and acknowledging that others' view on sentience or life is just as valid and not the result of a defective mind or illness.

So I wrote this article partly to vent, but also to bring to attention of the ongoing issues and contentions that we often face in our day to day struggles. I also wanted to thank the user Dejected 55's post as it was an inspiration for me to write this short article. Until the 'common decency' by the masses is normalized and common place, then there will sadly continue to be contention between those who wish to go on one's own terms versus the greater portion of society, the masses.

 

[Kurwenal]

You write very well, with an excellent balance of emotive language and well-reasoned arguments. It is sad that were 100 people outside this forum to read it, my estimate is that at least 99 of them would find some way to argue against it, likely with a sanctimonious tone.

People don't like the idea of death. So they project that onto others. And so we become trapped in their society.

Where I live, medically assisted suicide is actually available. Of course, the very rigid checklist is insane. History of mental illness? Begone with you! Chronic, incurable condition that will take years or decades to finally kill you? Go cry to someone else!

It particularly resonates with me your point that they laud their actions in 'saving' us, making themselves the champions. Somewhere, there are presumably a number of paramedics who (if they happen to remember me for some weird reason, not that I would expect them to) can go to sleep at night comfortably, telling themselves they saved a life. The results of their saving that life were, in fact, years of greater misery for that life.

Thank you for writing this article. You have articulated the state of affairs in ways far more eloquently than I could.