Ms. Kay mentions a topic feared by media and public in her article:
Barbara Kay: Fear the slippery slope | National Post.
4,000 people take their lives every year in Canada, and we don’t like talking about it. “We might encourage others,” they say. I’m not sure whether this feeling is based on evidence or emotion.
Physician assisted suicide forces us to discuss the suicide epidemic in Canada and many other things besides.
A slippery slope exists when no meaningful stop could halt the progression from one end to the other. The burden of evidence lies with those who insist there is no slide. So far, all the evidence supports the slope and our movement along it.
Thank you, Ms. Kay, for having the courage to say so.
The slippery slope argument assumes that there can be no reasonable “stops” put in place.
The burden of proof may well rest with those who want to prevent the relief of suffering to an obvious case today to prevent inappropriate care to a hypothetical future patient. The currently suffering patient does not want his suffering to continue for the theoretical common good of society.
Thanks for commenting, Gerry! You know I love what you say on Twitter…
I agree we must focus on the needs of the patient in front of us. I disagree with your comment about ‘hypothetical future patient’. After all, that’s precisely the issue: the future patient isn’t hypothetical…they’re everywhere.
Again, thanks for commenting!!
S
Do you believe there are people in the world, that physician assisted suicide would be an ethically appropriate option?
Do you think that physician assisted suicide could be offered in a way for certain people that reduces the most suffering and maximizes well being (compared with the alternative of palliation?)
Eddie
Thanks for commenting, Eddie!
Great question about the ethics of physician assisted suicide (PAS). That, of course, is one of the main questions. Your second question is equally important: if we allow PAS, how does it impact other members of society (especially those who can’t defend themselves as articulately)?
Even if someone could argue that PAS might be ethical in some cases, it leaves a much bigger problem of how to deal with the impact on society. That’s what Ms. Kay’s article addresses. Allowing PAS shifts the norms for those who might otherwise never consider it and, currently, do not feel pressured to consider it. That would all change if PAS becomes the norm.
Thanks again for commenting!!
Shawn