What are your thoughts GD - try to keep the replies serious-ish... (granted I appreciate this is GD so I can't necessarily expect that).
I think it should be legal and unrestricted (in terms of reason/justification i.e. not just for people with serious physical health conditions) BUT regulated - a time delay from initial appointment and a requirement to talk with a mental health professional first.
Arguments for - firstly (and fundamentally) - a straight forward pro-choice argument, your body your choice.
Secondly - suicides happen, if someone is absolutely set on killing themselves then there isn't much you can do to stop that so providing a safe facility for it removes additional suffering for them and any additional fall out (like trains having to stop, someone having the unpleasant task of dealing with a body at the bottom of a cliff, on some tracks etc..).
On the other hand some (perhaps many) people with depression etc.. make a spur of the moment decision and could otherwise be talked out of it - the bloke dangling on the edge of a bridge or tall building etc.. I lost a friend to suicide a few years ago and everyone was kicking themselves, if only someone knew then maybe they could have prevented it etc..
So essentially if you have the medical cases (people with serious conditions who might be subject to DNRs in hospitals or who'd be signed off by doctors in Switzerland etc..) allowed to pass through (conditional on an initial menthal health assesment and based on medical assessment as per Switzerland) and everyone else having to speak to mental health professionals a few times and offered counselling etc.. then perhaps we can catch and save a bunch of the more on the edge people.
Of course in order for that to work then the facility must still be a viable option... i.e. it must be known that if you absolutely positiviely want to commit suicide then there isn't anything they can do to stop you but only delay you (otherwise it wouldn't be used) - given that it is known it is an efficient and pain free way to go then that beats the bridges/train tracks/overdoses route and we have our funnel into mental health professionals.
Essentially - if you allow a safe route for the absolutely determined to do it then can you catch and save the rest and overall both save lives among those bridge jumper types who could be talked out of it and make things less painful for those you had no hope of saving anyway?
I think it should be legal and unrestricted (in terms of reason/justification i.e. not just for people with serious physical health conditions) BUT regulated - a time delay from initial appointment and a requirement to talk with a mental health professional first.
Arguments for - firstly (and fundamentally) - a straight forward pro-choice argument, your body your choice.
Secondly - suicides happen, if someone is absolutely set on killing themselves then there isn't much you can do to stop that so providing a safe facility for it removes additional suffering for them and any additional fall out (like trains having to stop, someone having the unpleasant task of dealing with a body at the bottom of a cliff, on some tracks etc..).
On the other hand some (perhaps many) people with depression etc.. make a spur of the moment decision and could otherwise be talked out of it - the bloke dangling on the edge of a bridge or tall building etc.. I lost a friend to suicide a few years ago and everyone was kicking themselves, if only someone knew then maybe they could have prevented it etc..
So essentially if you have the medical cases (people with serious conditions who might be subject to DNRs in hospitals or who'd be signed off by doctors in Switzerland etc..) allowed to pass through (conditional on an initial menthal health assesment and based on medical assessment as per Switzerland) and everyone else having to speak to mental health professionals a few times and offered counselling etc.. then perhaps we can catch and save a bunch of the more on the edge people.
Of course in order for that to work then the facility must still be a viable option... i.e. it must be known that if you absolutely positiviely want to commit suicide then there isn't anything they can do to stop you but only delay you (otherwise it wouldn't be used) - given that it is known it is an efficient and pain free way to go then that beats the bridges/train tracks/overdoses route and we have our funnel into mental health professionals.
Essentially - if you allow a safe route for the absolutely determined to do it then can you catch and save the rest and overall both save lives among those bridge jumper types who could be talked out of it and make things less painful for those you had no hope of saving anyway?
