“Plans To Make Denmark A Down Syndrome-Free Perfect Society.”

[Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' timestamp='1314256317' post='2294653']
Yes, it's misplaced/misunderstood mercy and/or a skewed idea of suffering. One of my grandfathers chose to starve himself to death after his stroke. He could've lived for years, but he didn't want to lose his independence. His wife kept trying to get him to eat, while my mom and her siblings told her to stop trying.
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Also, there is a selfishness in this trend. A good friend of mine is dealing with this now. His dad's wife is slowly going blind. If the surgery does not help her, she wants to basically starve herself so that she does not have to live that way and lose her independence. When he tries to talk to her about it she just replies "how dare he try to deny her of her choice." This is a tremendously selfish position I find in that it does not recognize, or rather does not care, about how such actions affect loved ones. We all recognize that to some degree suicide is a speech act; it says something about the way the person views the world. This is no different. It does not recognize that none of us is truly independent and we all depend on everyone else for what we have as well as denies the feelings of/ways such actions other people (especially spouses and children and grandchildren) and tells loved one's that they are not worth "sticking around for." How sad it must be to feel one's life is not worth living. We must pray for such people.

[sixpence]

[quote name='Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam' timestamp='1314291820' post='2294782']

Also, there is a selfishness in this trend. A good friend of mine is dealing with this now. His dad's wife is slowly going blind. If the surgery does not help her, she wants to basically starve herself so that she does not have to live that way and lose her independence. When he tries to talk to her about it she just replies "how dare he try to deny her of her choice." This is a tremendously selfish position I find in that it does not recognize, or rather does not care, about how such actions affect loved ones. We all recognize that to some degree suicide is a speech act; it says something about the way the person views the world. This is no different. It does not recognize that none of us is truly independent and we all depend on everyone else for what we have as well as denies the feelings of/ways such actions other people (especially spouses and children and grandchildren) and tells loved one's that they are not worth "sticking around for." How sad it must be to feel one's life is not worth living. We must pray for such people.
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I think this attitude of unwillingness to live a life dependent on others is what leads people to be able to say "well I'm going to abort the Downs baby; after all no one would want to live a difficult life like that, I'm sure the baby doesn't..."