Especially as a human can normally consent to death but a pet can’t

  • Bubbaonthebeach@lemmy.ca
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    5 days ago

    Easy. Religious people who think humans are superior to any other life. This leads to killing animals for both merciful and vicious reasons. It also leads to keeping people alive by any Frankensteinian method possible while denying any death because “going to God” without enough suffering first isn’t religious enough. Although big corporations also get the right to kill people (gun manufacturers, oil & gas industry, Sackler family, etc.) so long as they profit enough off the deaths.

  • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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    The US just pretends to be against it due to puritanical traditions. In reality we keep guns legal so people can blow their own brains out when they get fucked by late stage capitalism. Suicide is the majority vs murder when it comes to gun deaths.

  • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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    6 days ago

    Because while euthanasia is generally a good thing, there are also big potentials for abuse and unnecessary tragedy. We maintain a pretense of caring about these things with humans and so most governments err on the side of caution while others think they’re such hot shit they can dance their way through the quagmire. Meanwhile, we openly don’t give a single fuck what happens to non-human animals, and our culture is predicated on treating them like objects, so you’re allowed to do whatever you want with them. Kill them because they’re suffering, kill them because they bark too loud, it’s all the same. It’s your dog-shaped object, go nuts.

      • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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        You can place an animal in the open back of a truck in -30C weather and ship them 1,000km, knowing the whole time that the animal will arrive dead, and it is not a crime. No one will bat an eye because it happens THOUSANDS of times a year here in Canada.

        You can take a perfectly healthy and happy animal, and stab it right in the throat, because you want the meat, or because you like stabbing animals, and it is not a crime. This also happens many thousands of times a year here in Canada.

        Certain animals (mainly pets) have very limited protection against abuse, but those laws do not protect the life of the animal or protect the animal from needless suffering, cruelty, or violence. Factory farming exceeds these protections routinely, but the law is set up in many provinces to make reporting these crimes effectively itself a crime.

        You can do whatever you want.

          • Jerkface (any/all)@lemmy.ca
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            5 days ago

            okay. now what? If you have a point to make, I suggest you just come out and make it and stop talking around your point. Otherwise you waste both of our time. “Animal abuse” isn’t the name of a specific crime and most forms of animal abuse ARE NOT CRIMES.

            Canada has some of the weakest animal protection laws in the Western world. Animals are property with no rights. The protections that exist are mere lip-service. Prosecutions are extremely rare and most forms of cruelty that people commonly practice are perfectly legal.

            • BigBananaDealer@lemmy.world
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              you cant just “do whatever you want” you will go to jail. i didnt know canada was so lax on it but in the usa if you arent arrested an angry mob will kill you

  • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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    Much of it comes from Christian theology.

    Suicide has long been considered one of, if not the, worst possible sins in Christianity. At least in the Catholic tradition, sins can be forgiven by confessing your sins to a priest and having them absolved. But you can’t do this with suicide. Per Christian theology, even a murderer or child molester can some day repent, beg forgiveness, and be forgiven of their sins. They won’t be absolved from the earthly consequences of their actions, but they’ll be forgiven in the next life. That is a core message of Christianity - no actions are truly irredeemable as long as you still draw breath.

    But with suicide, this isn’t possible. You can’t confess your sins after you’re dead, and suicide means that your last act on Earth will be a mortal sin. I suppose you could maybe do confession along with assisted suicide. Maybe you have a priest on hand, swallow the poison, and then immediately confess your sin. But most religious scholars would likely argue that doesn’t work. Your contrition has to be genuine for it to count.

    Anyway, pardon the digression. But this really is the root of it. Even in modern Western societies. Even among people who aren’t themselves active Christians. Even among those who’ve never stepped inside a church. Secular Western society is still heavily influenced by Christian philosophy. A strong aversion to suicide in any form is a part of this. For most Christians, voluntarily signing up for euthanasia is the easiest direct path to eternal damnation that one can achieve. The only quicker more direct way would be a murder-suicide. We’ve never had that same worry with animals. Christian theology doesn’t assign souls to animals. And even if it did, they would have no moral blame for us choosing to put them down.

    • Siegfried@lemmy.world
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      It sounds plausible, until you see the map of countries that have some sort of legalized euthanasia. The only few that do have it are Christian or christian heavily influenced countries.

  • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    because of WW2 and the experiences made there.

    if euthanasia was legal, it would be immediately used against some kind of disadvantaged group, which is why it’s kept forbidden.

      • ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world
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        And there are already some controversy around disadvantaged groups getting suggested applying for euthanasia, some even going through it.

        • daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          Source?

          In my country euthanasia has to be required by the person wanting to ending. Nor the government nor any other person or organization can ask for this procedure to be done to an unwilling person.

          The person has to require twice, and be evaluated by a comitee of medical doctors to ensure that it has a chronic disease that could not be cured and that it’s causing ongoing pain that would not get better with medication.

          https://www.sanidad.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=6823

          Statistics on it doesn’t point to it being “targeted to anyone”. More so, there are many people who ask for it and cannot get it in time and die of natural causes before the procedure could be done.

        • BorgDrone@feddit.nl
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          How do you imagine that would work?

          I live in a country that allows for euthanasia and it’s not like you just walk into a doctor’s office and ask for a suicide pill. It’s a long process involving multiple doctors and psychological assessments.

          • ptu@sopuli.xyz
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            Probably for budget reasons. Someone comes up with an idea that the state should cut spending on the sick and elderly and start campaigning on how we should be focusing healthcare on only the fit and the strong to save the nation. Then we just need to make the patriot pill easily available and remind sick people of how big of a burden they are.

            I know, that was a bit far fetched and personally I think the terminally ill should have a way to leave with dignity instead of jumping off bridges or driving into oncoming traffic.

            • BorgDrone@feddit.nl
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              Someone comes up with an idea that the state should cut spending on the sick and elderly and start campaigning about how we should be focusing healthcare on only the fit and the strong

              That’s already the case with private health insurance.

              I think the terminally ill should have a way to leave with dignity instead of jumping off bridges or driving into oncoming traffic.

              Where I live euthanasia is available in case of “suffering without chance of improvement”, which includes mental health issues in very rare cases (and only after every treatment option has been exhausted).

              The last few years there has been some discussion to allow for euthanasia for people who feel they have “completed their life”. As in: elderly who don’t want to spend their last few years in an old peoples home wearing adult diapers slowly withering away. They had a good life, they feel like there is nothing left for them to do on this earth and just want a dignified death on their own terms. There is something to be said for that.

          • alternategait@lemmy.world
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            "Carr said that since Track 2 MAiD was implemented in 2021 – which allows patients who are not terminally ill to be euthanized – people with disabilities are targeted “for medical assistance in dying when they are not dying” and “that has certainly changed people’s interactions with the health care system quite dramatically.”

            She said: “People with disabilities are now very much afraid in many circumstances to show up in the healthcare system with regular concerns because often MAiD is suggested as the solution to what is considered to be intolerable suffering that happens to be caused by some of the things that this committee addresses like poverty and the situations that people with disabilities disproportionately find themselves in compared to other Canadians.”"

            https://theinterim.com/issues/euthanasia-suicide/euthanasia-instills-fear-of-health-care-system-for-people-with-disabilities/

            MacAulay walked the committee through what his department knew, thus far, saying the first case that came to light occurred last summer where the caseworker repeatedly pushed the notion of MAID to an unnamed veteran who had called seeking help with post-traumatic stress.

            A second occasion reported happened last May where the same caseworker provided assisted dying information to a veteran.

            Another incident is alleged to have happened in December 2021, said MacAulay. It involved a veteran who contacted the department to ask questions about MAID. The committee had already heard testimony about that event during a previous hearing last month.

            The fourth known case apparently happened in 2019, where a veteran called VAC specifically asking for information about assistance in taking his own life.

            https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/veterans-maid-rcmp-investigation-1.6663885

          • netvor@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            Let’s not forget that there are people who love simplifying regulations. (And they even have significant influence nowadays in the EU. 😞 )

      • ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca
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        This document says they did.

        I’m pro-euthanization but if we’re going to get into a consent in fascist countries debate then I think it’s not very hard to fake.

  • Swordgeek@lemmy.ca
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    Canada has Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID). People can - with medical approval and assistance - choose to go out on their own terms.

  • bagsy@lemmy.world
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    Do you have any idea how much money there is in end of life care, nursing homes, and hospice? Its a many billion dollar industry. It exists mostly to rob estates from the elderly so the kids inherit nothing. Its a truly evil thing to prolong someones suffering in order to pad your bank account.

  • Fichtre@programming.dev
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    7 days ago

    TLDR : yes but (Wished it was for the greater good only, ie. respect and help people decide how they end their lives but capitalism will use it with its own vision and how it values human lives -not much-)

    In addition to the usual religion + human life being supposedly more valuable than pets /many other animal, there’s the “utility” angle.

    Someone here already mentioned the “is grandma Suzanne still valuable as an asset to society ? Aaaww she had a good life then. 'K bye” and it’s actually pretty huge : in a world where governments are cutting more and more social welfare budget (well, when there was one to begin with at least), promoting the right to die must include the stories of people that don’t benefit from proper care and who are way more susceptible to go with the legal way out of euthanasia. And this number, with the budget cuts, older population, whatever incapacitating fuckery that might happen will grow quickly if not properly safeguarded (and I dont trust anyone in power right now to safeguard it).

    I used to be completely in favour of euthanasia as a proper, respectful ending for people in pain : we had this story in France with Vincent Humbert that encapsulated all the reasons why it should be legal.

    And then, capitalism kept happening and this idea of euthanasia, as beautiful as it is if properly set, increasingly became in my mind a tool to stir the masses towards global productivity/efficiency, with a few happy yet sobbing endings.

    So yeah, I’m still hesitant on this matter, and I wished it could be implemented to relieve the many persons who just want a little more respect for how they wish to die. But at the same time, if nothing more is done to increase social welfare budgets, welp. We might end up with the suicide booths from Futurama 😅

    • HubertManne@piefed.social
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      I get you but its not like its either or. If anything statistics about euthanasia would at least be an argument that social programs are insufficient. Sorta the ultimate weigh. If all places allowed it, it would likely be a pretty obvious metric for quality of life. You could not get it to zero but it would be obvious what places are not even trying. Come to think of it its obvious now why many politicians do not want to see that right be a thing.

      • Fichtre@programming.dev
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        Definitely yes ! In the scenario you propose where its legal worldwide, the comparison between countries would be brutal (aaaaand now I see buzzfeed-like articles everywhere “You won’t believe what France brought back”, “Best countries where to (legally) die” and “My absolution : from soldier to death caregiver, the story of the man who kept killing legally”)

  • Lets be honest, most humans do not view pets as equals to a human. Valuing our own species over others is just part of our biology. (not saying that I agree with this view)

    If people had the legal responsibility to keep paying thousands or tens of thousands (or potentially more) to keep a pet alive at its senior years, then like… I bet like 50% of pet owners will either become bankrupt or go to jail for animal cruelty.

    Laws are just written with humans prioritized… I mean… humans have healthcare¹, pets do not.

    A human in an emergency situation arriving in a hospital, and they are legally required to give treatment even if the person cannot pay at the time¹, a vet can legally refuse to treat a pet in an emergency until the owner pays (not saying that would refuse, but they could).

    (¹restrictions apply, varies by country)

    One could argue that if euthanasia is legal, then there would be situations of: “Hey, granny is kinda taking too much resouces… maybe we should just pull the life support?” or “Okay my child has cancer and takes up too much of my money, and all this money would be wasted if the treatment fails, I’m gonna talk to the doctor and end this parasite once and for all”

    • Ice@lemmy.zip
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      One could argue that if euthanasia is legal, then there would be situations of: “Hey, granny is kinda taking too much resouces… maybe we should just pull the life support?” or “Okay my child has cancer and takes up too much of my money, and all this money would be wasted if the treatment fails, I’m gonna talk to the doctor and end this parasite once and for all”

      Which is exactly why I’m in favour of euthanasia for humans on a moral level (people should be able to decide their own fate) but against it on a societal level (it will likely result in people getting pressured into “choosing” death.)

      The harm of the people who are unable to choose death (a.k.a commit suicide) on their own suffering is a lesser evil compared to people who want to live being pressured into dying (in my view).

      • desertdruid@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        Right?! For example in Canada they have “MAID” (Medical Assistance in Dying) and it’s a good start but recently they tried to add mental disorders to it and it’s really itchy for me.

        • a_gee_dizzle@lemmy.ca
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          Yeah I got major downvotes on here once for saying MAiD for mental health problems seems ripe for abuse. Isn’t suicidal ideation a symptom of many mental health issues? And the state is just going to help people fulfil those urges rather than treating the underlying illness causing them? Seems crazy to me

  • LuigiMaoFrance@lemmy.ml
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    There’s more profit to be made off a sick person slowly dying over years than a one-time procedure.
    What the general population thinks rarely matters since our politicians are bought by the owning class.

    • a_gee_dizzle@lemmy.ca
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      There’s more profit to be made off a sick person slowly dying over years than a one-time procedure.

      This would only really apply in America. Most Western countries have at publicly funded healthcare systems, yet most of them do not have legal euthanasia for humans

    • thermal_shock@lemmy.world
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      Technically, if you’re successful, you have the right to kill yourself anywhere. Don’t let your dreams be dreams. I’d absolutely pull the plug on myself if the time came where I just wanted to fuck off. Hard to arrest and take a corpse to trial.

      • allidoislietomyself@lemmy.world
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        The problem is by the time you’re bad enough to say “fuck this” you may not be physically able to pull the plug. My dad had terminal cancer. One day he thought he was just tired and went up to take a nap. He laid down and never sat up again. He died a week and a half later. Unfortunately for my dad my state didn’t allow for terminal patients the choice to end their life. As of this year it is allowed if you have a doctor saying you have less than 6 months to live.

        • DaniNatrix@leminal.space
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          Same with my mom and cancer. One Saturday she took a long nap and missed a pain medication dose, as my dad thought she’d be better off getting the rest. Never got back up unassisted and was gone within 10 days. She never would have opted for euthanasia anyway, super Catholic, but it was crazy how fast, and then how slowly, the whole thing unfolded.

          I have multiple plans in place for myself if I end up facing down the same fate. Religion wasn’t catching for me so if I get a terminal diagnosis, I’m living it up and then Irish goodbying. Really sorry about your dad.