what if someone has dementia, and has seen a family member go through dementia, and doesn't want to put their own family through that or turn into that? Or what if someone is a quadriplegic after a motorbike or horse-riding accident, and cannot bear to live life like that or be a burden on their family? I think it's an interesting topic and not as clear cut as people would like to think.

Love grows through service to others. Would you have those thoughts about raising a baby? Of course not! You'd only see the happiness that comes from those precious loving memories! I was blessed to be able to bathe my mother when she had her surgery to put her chemo port in. I treasure that memory! Being able to care for her even in such a little way blessed me beyond measure and was just a small portion of what I would have been willing to do for her because of what she did for me!! I wish I had 10 more years of service with her, caring for her! It makes people feel good to give to others! Its not a burden. But if you have no one to care for you, or if they need help there are programs and help available. Even in a nursing home they will be providing some people with jobs so they can support their families! Service grows love and empathy. Would you want to deprive those who love you of the opportunity to grow as individuals?

"what if someone has dementia, and has seen a family member go through dementia, and doesn't want to put their own family through that or turn into that?" Once the dementia is bad enough, they won't remember all of that anyway. "Or what if someone is a quadriplegic after a motorbike or horse-riding accident, and cannot bear to live life like that or be a burden on their family?" Stephen Hawking was quadriplegic most of his life. Are you suggesting that he should have offed himself instead of living to become the greatest physicist of his time?! "I think it's an interesting topic and not as clear cut as people would like to think." Sure. It's a deep topic. It's worth taking time to understand why people want to die, and then to help them understand that they don't have to feel that way, and that there is always a better way. I don't think suicide should be criminalized the way it is - in fact, I don't think it's a matter of law at all, but a matter of personal responsibilities and what is best for society in general. If you had posed as an example, instead, a person who had taken another person's life and was subject to a natural life sentence in prison without possibility of parole, and they wanted to die, I'd have a hard time arguing that the person needs to continue to live his or her life, not that the person would not possibly be able to have any positive impact, but that the person very likely would not and is not conditioned to do so. It'd be a discussion. But to say that a person with a physical handicap should just go ahead and be euthanized, to me, is a disturbing and, frankly, disgusting idea.

Thanks for your responses, yes, I have friends who's parents have dementia, and it isn't a quick process, sometimes it is years until they reach a point they can no longer swallow, and so starve to death, some get violent and are hard to handle, it can take up to 10 years. Having witnessed it first hand, some of them said they'd rather "off themselves" then suffer that, and put anyone through that, the thought for them is unbearable. In the UK if you want to put family members in a home, the cost of that house goes towards their care; so they worked their whole lives in the hope their home would benefit their offspring in some way, only for it to go into the care of paying for them when they have lost their marbles, bowel control, and ability to function. And caring isn't an easy business, It's no lie that at some points people often feel like they will lose their own marbles like they are bouncing off the walls, and then feel guilty for feeling like it. Even in cancer the patient is often dying from starvation at the end, and the nurse will give a little extra morphine. What if someone has gone from being athletic to a quadriplegic and doesn't want to live like that, it is extremely difficult to live in a body that one feels hostage to. People with mental illnesses that hallucinate, hear voices, see the world in a screwed manner, persistently tormented, or having to take medication that makes them feel like zombies, my brother worked with someone like this and he did end his life he couldn't take it anymore, so as I understand it, I don't believe it is clear cut; people aren't necessary doing it for selfish reasons or what could even be considered selfish, and Linda I don't advocate suicide, but I pray that God is merciful in those situations for he knows the heart.