After my partner got involved in the DwD program I became aware of the issue. Later, a front page piece was published in our local paper (we have three in this county) concerning the problem with suicides I became motivated to speak out. The editorial talked about reducing suicides and even mentioned the Catholic church's role in suicide prevention. However, it did not talk of the issue of suffering. So I got fired up and wrote to the editor. She told me she studied this issue in college and if I was able to limit it to 300 words it would be published in all three of the papers. In the process NPR had a program centered on how keeping people alive provided a revenue source for hospitals so I was able to include that in my revised version. It did appear in the 3 papers and I have submitted the letter here.

It would be nice but the postage might be astronomical.

@JackPedigo Guess I'll have to make my own.

Am aware the DwD and euthanasia are different but not sure of the difference between DwD and assisted dying.

There is a group "Final Exit." it was behind the group the Hemlock Society but now it's just "Final Exit." They have a book on ways of ending one's life and some things we think are easy can have serious side effects. One they recommend needs a 2nd person (to remove all the equipment). One goes to a toy store and buys a canister of Helium. Then you run a tube from the Helium to a plastic bag you put over your head. Take some sleeping pills and turn on the Helium. You will quietly and painlessly go to sleep and never wake up. [finalexit.org] There are tons of videos on this subject.

@JackPedigo ...................beware of helium. the major supplier of helium, "party time" is it? (,ace hardware sells it for kids party balloons,) now oxiginates its helium. its no longer lethal. welding nitrogen, available as a maskeyour own kit from amezon with regulatior for the tank, is probably the best bet. if all else fails the hidious 2nd amendment ,carefully applied, will do the job

@holdenc98 Good to know

What so many fail (or want to deny) is that we will die. Whether we suffer or not can often be up to us but too many try to make this into a political issue (often to court the evangelicals) and actually increase suffering. Suicide has become a polarizing word and can have financial consequences (like in life insurance payouts). Here the word suicide is removed from any legislation in which a person chooses the legal and medical method of their deaths. I have said the religious say suicide is against god's law yet those same people think nothing of using the most advanced methods to prolong their lives. They say they can't wait to meet Jesus, but not just yet.

@JackPedigo Also those same people would think nothing of euthanizing their pets so they didn't have to suffer. Strange.

@RhondaShotwell Absolutely, and they don't (or won't) see the hypocrisy in that stance.

Why shouldn't anyone who wants to die be allowed to?
It's just silly to keep them alive if they want to die. Plus, better to have fewer people on the planet.
This whole "mentally sound" bit reeks in my humble opinion, of course.

Maybe make a three day waiting period, but after 3 days if they still want to exit stage left, I say we give them a nice last meal and a standing ovation.

@AtheistInNC Some suffer from depression and are physically fit, depression is treatable . Cancer patients with terminal diagnosis are suitable, dying in pain is wrong

@bobwjr
Just because it is treatable doesn't mean they shouldn't have the choice.

@AtheistInNC Except some people, lots of them teenagers, are impulsive when they are in extreme emotional pain. Teenagers who end their lives because they broke up with their first love, or in my SIL's case her son killed himself when he got divorced. Had he been able to reach out and get some help so that he could withstand that emotional rush, and learn to move on he'd be here to be a father to his kids and watch them grow up. Now his kids, and his mother had to go through that extreme pain of never seeing him again. I don't believe he was being selfish in the moment, but I do think that that kind of intense pain is hard to withstand for some. That's why it's smart to be cautious about this, and not let anyone just willy-nilly pull the plug any time something hard comes along, and it always will.

@RhondaShotwell
It's sad, but you also have the other side where the person in emotional pain goes the other way and kills others before he kills himself, which is a lot more painful.

If we had a better healthcare system that included your eyes, teeth and emotional wellbeing in the healthcare, I think much of the emotional pain could be avoided before it came to wanting to off oneself.

True but in the countries where it is allowed they are very careful.

Great flic, but they forced it at 30, no voluntary

The dignity refers to measures needed, often by family members or loved ones, to extend another's life. Bathing, bathroom functions, being bedridden and getting sores and on are not very dignified for the sufferer.

I guess the choice is always ours, but having it legal and assisted means less burden on the family.

Recently the program became legal in Vermont. That makes 12 so far.

Plus, my guess is that those choosing to die will have a will, and all their affairs in order before they go.

A lot less grief overall, in my opinion.

That is a big issue with the DwD programs. Still, all medications and also, in this case, have to be self-administered. This is Switzerland which is light years ahead of us.