Discussion Do you think general attitudes towards suicide would change if assisted suicide was legalised?

[Forever Sleep]

Anyone here from countries where assisted suicide is legal and well established? Do you think it makes a difference to how people think of suicide? Are people more pro-choice in those countries?

I feel like people are sheeple to a large extent. We are influenced by what is officially accepted.

Take other issues. Women's rights, racism, homophobia. Have we become more tolerant as equal opportunities have become legally enforced? Seems crazy to me that you could be jailed for being gay. Even worse that some countries still do that. But, do you feel that- as a population, people will accept things when they know they have to live with them? I suppose though, for people with very strong opposing views, you get even more backlash.

I wonder how long it takes for ideas to become established in the social psyche as it were. I wonder if it will ever happen globally.

 

[chester]

I think the cause and effect are backwards in the title. The attitude needs to change before legal changes follow. No politician (or political party) who wants to get reelected is going to risk making a decision that's going to go against their voters' views. End of racial segregation or women's rights movements teach us one thing: if enough people want it, and they show they want it, it's going to happen.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I think that it would but it'd take a few generations for it to do so assuming that people don't rebel. People's attitudes towards suicide won't change immediately but it should after a while

 

[offbalance]

US person here.
I feel like when attitudes change more toward seeing mental illness as legitimate and sometimes unsolvable will you see more people here supporting euthanasia. I think at least a part of it is that it's just plain uncomfortable for people to think about such unsolvable cases and they want to believe it's largely solvable. Like: Maybe the person isn't "trying hard enough", or has tried every medication, etc. There are people who have truly tried everything and are unfixable, I don't even think a lot of people would argue against euthanasia in those cases. Especially not the more liberal party here. But for the suicidals who haven't tried everything, I think they don't trust those suicidals enough when they say they feel unfixable. Why would that suicidal person try something that they know won't work? I understand both sides in this situation, because you can't know for sure something will work unless you've tried it. Maybe that medication will help you focus on the positive more, even if you think life is more objectively bad than good, which I think a lot of this forum does.

I think a lot of people would support euthanasia for those who have tried everything, or are undeniably incurable, they just don't see that number of people being large enough for the issue to gain a lot of traction and it's uncomfortable to think about the unsolvable cases so that might play a part.

 

[Epikur]

I´m from Germany.
Euthanasia or assisted suicide respectively has been de-facto legalized since the constitutional court toppled a law in 2020 that until then forbade any action by organisations or doctors. That decision was very well accepted by a vast majority. Churchmen went bananas, but that was to be expected.
We have organisations like the "society for human dying" who assist you as a member. Most interestingly, you do not need to have a dismal diagnosis. The organisation publishes its statistics every year. The service has been engrossed about 300 times a year. No rise for the past years. Only a few of these assistances were without a diagnosis. So, in opposition to those who forebode an explosion of assisted suicides, nothing happened actually. The number of registered suicides in Germany is at 10,000 each year, with rising tendency, on the other hand.

The reason why hardly any suicidal person asks for this service that there are some hurdles, naturally. You have to be a member of that association for at least half a year. And of course they´ll run an interview (or two I think) prior to any action. I suspect them of talking people out of their cbt ideas when there´s no severe illness. But, and that is new, they now openly discuss about to accept also mental illnesses as a reason to ask for assistance. Especially chronic depression is being more and more accepted as a disease that will lead to death in one way or the other.

So far the development is positive in that direction.

 

[doneforlife]

Anyone here from countries where assisted suicide is legal and well established? Do you think it makes a difference to how people think of suicide? Are people more pro-choice in those countries?

I feel like people are sheeple to a large extent. We are influenced by what is officially accepted.

Take other issues. Women's rights, racism, homophobia. Have we become more tolerant as equal opportunities have become legally enforced? Seems crazy to me that you could be jailed for being gay. Even worse that some countries still do that. But, do you feel that- as a population, people will accept things when they know they have to live with them? I suppose though, for people with very strong opposing views, you get even more backlash.

I wonder how long it takes for ideas to become established in the social psyche as it were. I wonder if it will ever happen globally.

This is exactly what I was thinking. If you observe, individuals usually blindly follow established societal norms until someone questions those norms and brings reforms. That's not easy to come by...but one can only hope. There was slavery , untouchability , Sati system all practised as social norms !! Yes reforms are very much needed. And yes , coming generations will not see it as taboo if the norms are changed. As far as how long it takes to get established in psyche...may be a generation or two .

I´m from Germany.
Euthanasia or assisted suicide respectively has been de-facto legalized since the constitutional court toppled a law in 2020 that until then forbade any action by organisations or doctors. That decision was very well accepted by a vast majority. Churchmen went bananas, but that was to be expected.
We have organisations like the "society for human dying" who assist you as a member. Most interestingly, you do not need to have a dismal diagnosis. The organisation publishes its statistics every year. The service has been engrossed about 300 times a year. No rise for the past years. Only a few of these assistances were without a diagnosis. So, in opposition to those who forebode an explosion of assisted suicides, nothing happened actually. The number of registered suicides in Germany is at 10,000 each year, with rising tendency, on the other hand.

The reason why hardly any suicidal person asks for this service that there are some hurdles, naturally. You have to be a member of that association for at least half a year. And of course they´ll run an interview (or two I think) prior to any action. I suspect them of talking people out of their cbt ideas when there´s no severe illness. But, and that is new, they now openly discuss about to accept also mental illnesses as a reason to ask for assistance. Especially chronic depression is being more and more accepted as a disease that will lead to death in one way or the other.

So far the development is positive in that direction.

I sometimes feel hopeless..that I am not a citizen of such progressive thinking countries.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I doubt it. I've always said that the only way to make suicide more universally accepted is for life itself to get universally shittier. Right now reality is only barely scratching the surface of how much things suck. The average person needs to be constantly barraged with suffering and misery to a far greater degree than even now in order for this to ever be achieved. Legalizing assisted suicide would likely only be possible after this great shift and not before.

 

[JessIsAlive]

Anyone here from countries where assisted suicide is legal and well established? Do you think it makes a difference to how people think of suicide? Are people more pro-choice in those countries?

I feel like people are sheeple to a large extent. We are influenced by what is officially accepted.

Take other issues. Women's rights, racism, homophobia. Have we become more tolerant as equal opportunities have become legally enforced? Seems crazy to me that you could be jailed for being gay. Even worse that some countries still do that. But, do you feel that- as a population, people will accept things when they know they have to live with them? I suppose though, for people with very strong opposing views, you get even more backlash.

I wonder how long it takes for ideas to become established in the social psyche as it were. I wonder if it will ever happen globally.

I don't think suicide will ever become "accepted" in the way that I (and I assume you) would want, and this is because no matter how accepting a society/culture is about it, I feel like people's families will always be generally opposed to their loved ones committing suicide.

people generally hate it when their kids die

 

[nembutal]

lawmakers haven't even acknowledged the rising suicide rate, let alone question the morality of the act.

 

[Green Destiny]

I'm speaking past tense here but if Suicide/Euthanasia becomes more socially accepted and more legal then it will follow with heavy commercialization. Soon there will be ads and billboards advertising options for making the ultimate decision yourself. After all things from alcohol to food to gambling are already heavily shown off for monetary value, Suicide and Euthanasia will be no different imo.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I'm speaking past tense here but if Suicide/Euthanasia becomes more socially accepted and more legal then it will follow with heavy commercialization. Soon there will be ads and billboards advertising options for making the ultimate decision yourself. After all things from alcohol to food to gambling are already heavily shown off for monetary value, Suicide and Euthanasia will be no different imo.

You're probably right. My gallows humour finds that kind of funny. True though- there are plenty of adverts for pre paid funerals- the whole- I don't want to be a burden on my family.

 

[AnonThinker]

Here in South Africa, there's an organization that wants to change the law to allow assisted death. I'm all for it because why should you suffer? Cancer, mental illness, etc. A woman I know from SA when to Switzerland for uthenasia in May. And there was another article of a woman going as well. But it's only an option for people with money. I support the organization here who will be fighting to make it legal.

Look in the Netherlands where that woman did it due to her severe mental health. I'm sure she had to jump through lots of hoops, which is understandable when you have mental health issues as people think meds are the cure-all and end-all when in reality they're not and therapy doesn't always help either. Especially if you've already made your decision.

 

[Valhala]

The moment when assisted suicide would be legalized, it would show that general attitudes about suicide have already changed to some extent.

 

[Emeralds]

I doubt it especially with such an emotionally charged topic like death. Most people aren't going to be happy with the idea that their relatives can sneak off to a clinic and receive help to end their life. What happened in Canada is a perfect example. Society's attitude towards death would have to shift dramatically before assisted suicide for everyone would be accepted.

 

[Praying 4 a Miracle]

Absolutely, people would definitely wake up and smell the coffee if it were legislated. Right now the majority of citizens on Earth are just oblivious of what real suffering is like. It would NOT take much of globally united effort to calmly and rationally educate (the happy and healthy) on this issue! It would just take some organization and a few key people to lead the effort. I believe that it will happen, and soon. We are, after all, a relatively compassionate species!

 

[Kali_Yuga13]

I've always said that the only way to make suicide more universally accepted is for life itself to get universally shittier. Right now reality is only barely scratching the surface of how much things suck.

I think you're right about this. Also, as the economy tanks and people can't afford to hide their elderly in nursing homes they will see the horrors of sickness and old age first hand and suffer caretaker fatigue to the point that it affects their own ability to earn. All the rhetoric about the finer points of morality and ethics will fly out the window.