Archived Should a depressed person be allowed to End their life? (AskVoat)
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Archived Should a depressed person be allowed to End their life? (AskVoat)
submitted ago by PM_ME_YOUR_BOOBS2
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[–] Antima ago
I can see your argument. I still believe it should be approached as a last resort. If we make it overly accessible I think people who are acutely ill will end up killing themselves who otherwise may not have done so. I'm talking about people with a mental illness who are experiencing an episode. If we make a suicide pill easier to get than their regular medication then we are telling them we want them to use the suicide pill. I think we should be treating their issues before we give them the option. I'm not as concerned about the suicide as a means of attention. People will continue to do it despite access to a suicide pill. We might look at the differently but they will likely continue to take too much aspirin and be treated.
[–] TelescopiumHerscheli 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
On your second substantive point - "People will continue to do it despite access..." - I suspect the only way to actually know this is to actually try the experiment: at present we're both just stating opinions. On your first point - people "experiencing an episode" - I agree to a point, and on balance tentatively concede this to you, but I think I'd need to know more about "episodes" before fully agreeing. This is an area where there's a lot more thinking to be done on both our sides, I suspect, as well as within broader society. I don't know exactly what I think now.
[–] Antima ago
Just speaking to my point about people and suicide attempts for attention, you're right that I'm simply stating my opinion. As far as I'm aware no one has studied this so I couldn't really rely on any study to base my belief on. Just to clarify my point about people experiencing an episode I'm talking about someone who has an exacerbation of their illness. Just for example someone who has depression is having increased symptoms in the last week and now wants a suicide pill. I would like to treat their worsening depression before gibing them access to a suicide pill. If however a year of treatment has gone by and they are still having these feelings then maybe it should be talked about.
I think you're right that we are just scratching the surface about this issue. There would be a lot more to consider before making a final decision. My worry about this topic is that it would be rushed and not thought out. I would hope for something so serious to be strongly debated and implemented in a well thought out manner.