The Swiss prove the point oft made here, in testimony before government bodies, and in my articles on the subject, that assisted suicide isn’t really about a “safety valve” for the dying for whom nothing can be done to alleviate suffering—the usual sound bite of domestic PAS advocates.
But Swiss suicide ideologues are much more candid about the ultimate destination toward which assisted suicide consciousness would lead us. They have asked a judge in Switzerland to approve their facilitating the suicides of depressed people who are not otherwise ill. Some are shocked by this, but shouldn’t be. The Dutch have long permitted euthanasia for depressed people who are not otherwise ill.
Permitting near death on demand is the logical consequence of euthanasia ideology: The two weight-bearing pillars of euthanasia advocacy are an almost absolute notion of personal autonomy and the belief that killing is an acceptable answer to human suffering. This being so, in the end, what does terminal illness have to do with the so-called “right to die.” Other than being a useful political argument; not a thing.
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