tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post8301267500084401106..comments2023-10-10T05:07:13.577-07:00Comments on En Tequila Es Verdad: I-1000 Has My VoteDana Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00890312745525306991noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-32477308968281615002008-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:002008-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:00NP offers the slippery slope argument in oppositio...NP offers the slippery slope argument in opposition to the initiative. That's a spurious argument. While there may be those who will attempt to take advantage of the process to commit what amounts to homicide, there are safeguards that can arrest the slide down that slope. The Netherlands, for example, requires the assent of two physicians and, in the event that there's some doubt about the patient's competence to make an informed decision, the assent of a psychologist.<BR/><BR/>What's the alternative we now have? It is to require me to "live" in a state of interminable pain when I know it is hopeless and that there is no relief short of dying. Who has that right? Who arrogates to themselves a decision that properly belongs to me? On what grounds do they take that decision away from me? No good grounds that I can see.<BR/><BR/>The Catholic Church offers just one argument in opposition, that we must find "the grace to accept, without fear or bitterness, to leave this world at the hour chosen by God" (<A HREF="http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000008162.cfm" REL="nofollow">Source</A>). The senior vice president of the Christian Medical Association sees the suffering as "... an opportunity for you to show the love of Christ to an unbelieving doctor." That's the insane notion that the suffering is an instrument of an (all-loving) deity. I recommend that Christians read <A HREF="http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061173974/Gods_Problem/index.aspx" REL="nofollow">Bart Ehrman's analysis </A>of the various (unsatisfactory) Biblical answers to the question of suffering. To the Pope I say "Fuck off, Bennie. It's my life, not yours. And it's my decision, not yours."RBHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13562135000111792590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-61099658690545640372008-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:002008-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00I'm curious to see other readers' comments on this...I'm curious to see other readers' comments on this, as well as your responses, Dana.<BR/><BR/>My concern with this initiative would be who makes the decision and when. While there are wonderful people in this world who want the best for their families, there are also people in this world who might make the decision prematurely, perhaps despite the patients' wishes, and instead of preserving the dignity of a loved one would, in fact, be committing murder.<BR/><BR/>I'm not speaking from a religious/spiritual place here, although my spiritual views do have an influence on how I feel.<BR/><BR/>Maybe I watch too much <I>Law & Order</I>, but I can see so many people taking advantage of this Initiative, rather than using it the way it was intended: to preserve human dignity.<BR/><BR/>And with something like illness or injury, there are so many factors in determining quality of life, and so many varying degrees of "how sick s/he is," I don't know how a piece of legislature could be written in order to benefit those who would use it wisely, but protect those whose families would use it unwisely.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12268407996242055175noreply@blogger.com