I'm not sure how I feel. What do you think? Assisted Suicide.

[DUU]

As the title alludes to, I’m not sure how I feel about assisted suicide. I’ve read several different perspectives. Illinois just signed in their bill into law.

What do you think? Pro? Con? Undecided ?

[IbogaProject]

1. Dr Kavorkian won me over about it

They described end stage bone cancer, not something anyone should have to stay alive through. The body's bones start splitting apart causing intractible pain. Yes there needs to be limits and a formal process but ultimately there are situations where its reasonable until there is a cure.

[JoseBalow]

6. I am currently a caretaker

for a loved one who has experienced two broken femurs due to metastasized stage-4 cancer in their bones, among other places. I would support whatever decision they may make, no matter how emotionally painful for myself, in order to ease their pain and suffering.

I would want the same autonomy for myself, were I in a similar situation.

[Grim Chieftain]

9. Sending warm wishes to you and your loved one

You both are in my thoughts.

[JoseBalow]

15. Thank you

I appreciate that.

[True Dough]

28. CEOs of many companies are extremely well compensated

Professional athletes make astronomical sums of money

Hollywood is awash in cash.

And yet the duty you are doing, Jose, is of far greater value than any of that. All the best to you and your beloved.

[JoseBalow]

44. Thank you, amigo

It helps to hear that

[Easterncedar]

2. All in

I think it would go a long way to eliminating people’s fear of it being abused if we had healthcare coverage for everyone so no one would decide to kill themselves to prevent their families from going broke.

[OldBaldy1701E]

31. Which would probably be the number one reason as things stand. (n/t)

[Eko]

3. I think if anyone has the right to decide if you die

It’s yourself.

[zanana1]

57. Agreed.

I think it's a human right. I don't find anything immoral about it.

[JBTaurus83]

4. I'm for it as long as

It’s not used as some dystopian tool to save companies money.

[OldBaldy1701E]

32. I am not sure how this would be any different than the current procedures that they have to do the same.

The 'booth' may be a bit more final, but it would be quicker than slowly starving and letting us die from preventable things as they are doing now.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. I am definitely pro on this. Always have been.

We need to be free to choose. Of course there must be safeguards so no-one is coerced or forced.

The dying person has the right to end the suffering.

[J_William_Ryan]

7. "I'm not sure how I feel about assisted suicide."

Most people support assisted suicide when it comes to those with a terminal illness, who will suffer until they die and have a short time to live.

Support drops off sharply when it comes to ‘quality of life’ – those with a significant disability that is not terminal, who want to die because they’ll never recover.

The problem with those who oppose assisted suicide (mostly conservatives) is that they also oppose funding mental health programs to prevent suicide and assist those with mental health issues.

[OldBaldy1701E]

33. Yep.

The cruelty is the point.

[Phoenix61]

8. All in. No one would argue for letting an animal

suffer until their last breath. We deserve the same compassion.

[Grim Chieftain]

11. Good point

We decided to end the suffering for two of our beloved dogs. It nearly killed me, but it was the humane thing to do.

[JoseBalow]

19. I very recently had to do the same

with my sweet 15-year-old pittie. It was the most painful decision I have ever had to make.

[Grim Chieftain]

21. Hugs to you friend

[JoseBalow]

23. Thank you

Hugs to you too

[Cloudhopper]

24. I was thinking the same while reading thru this...

I put down my last kitty (there were once 3) just 24 hrs ago. He was 20 y.o.
So weird not to have a cat to take care of after 22 years of them living with us.

[3catwoman3]

29. Just a thought. For our family, I came up with the terminology "liberating the spirit."

Personally, I never liked put down because it sounds cold. Put to sleep isn’t accurate - we wish they were only sleeping. And euthanasia sounds so unemotional and impersonal.

Liberating the spirit has an element of kindness to it.

So sorry you don’t have any cats in your life now. I know they are still,in your heart.

[Cloudhopper]

58. Thank you so much for

your kind words. I've already used 'liberating the spirit" since.

What I was really thinking was that we cannot communicate with animals, but we can make the call. Humans CAN communicate and we don't listen.

[Grim Chieftain]

40. I am so sorry

We had two bichon brothers who were the sweetest dogs I've ever had. Boo Bear had liver failure and our vet recommended we put him down to spare him from suffering. He was twelve. Four years later, his brother, Doodle, deteriorated to the point that we had to do the humane thing.

We made three appointments and canceled them all until we finally had to let him go. He was sixteen. Although we have two dogs we got since then, I miss Doodle and Boo Bear each and every day of my life - and they have been gone over ten years.

Losing a beloved pet is pure hell. Hugs to you, Cloudhopper.

[Cloudhopper]

59. Thank you for your kind words.

We had been trying to get an emergency appt thinking we could get him 'cured' when we finally realized we were doing that for us, and what the reality was of what was happening to him.

My thought, which I couldn't express yesterday, was that we can't communicate with animals yet we show them compassion and mercy. But when humans ask for such consideration, we don't listen.

Have a great day!

[RockRaven]

10. Like with every other topic of the sort: it depends.

[Faux pas]

12. Pro

[Marie Marie]

13. Fully support this. Anyone who has watched a loved one suffer, or been there themselves

know that we treat our animals more humanely than humans at the end of life. As long as an evaluation is done on the mental capacity of the departing or their medical POA if incapacitated.

[jmbar2]

14. Completely support it.

We do it for our beloved pets. I would want the same consideration to end suffering.

[Ferryboat]

16. Participated in this

Parkinson, wife's close friend chose this route. Bonnie was holding her hand at the end. As a bystander it was very humbling to watch the process.
Not spur of the moment, but well thought out.

[applegrove]

17. In Canada you have to have a terminal illness and be lucid.

It allows people to skip sometimes weeks or months of pain. I will do it when I'm 89 and terminally Ill.

[Attilatheblond]

18. A friend in Canada, wonderful woman who had a full life in service to others.

When the bone cancer had her stuck on her couch, in horrible pain, she had rich time with daughter and granddaughter, knowing her pain would be over soon. It brought peace and relief to her and her family.

I loved her and miss her terribly, but am so very grateful that Canada had the wisdom and decency to allow for assisted end to her pain. Her decision, her physicians knew there was no further relief from the horrible pain, only release. I am grateful for the kindness the state allowed her and others like her.

It is horrible that this is not an option here. One hopes we set aside religious doctrine, devices of men who want to control others always, and allow for kinder answers to hopeless illness and immeasurable pain.

[Skittles]

20. FOR

but it MUST be very clear indeed the decision is being made by and in the best interest of the person suffering

[Deuxcents]

22. Death with Dignity is a great organization and getting the message thru to legislators. I prefer it to "assisted suicide

[mnhtnbb]

25. The alternative for many who would choose

medical assistance to end their life is that or unbearable pain , relentless deterioration, or just plain suicide. I am in favor of leaving the choice up to the individual and family.

I tried to help my late husband face the decision I knew was coming by moving us to Bonaire in 2015 where assisted suicide is legal, not just for terminal patients. He refused to go. In the end, he blew his brains out in 2018 leaving not only a physical mess, but a legal, financial and psychological mess, too. It would have been a lot easier for everyone all around if his doc had been able to help him take the step when he was ready to go.

[rampartd]

26. my last words to a neighbor, just a few weeks ago

"that is entirely your right. "

he did die naturally the next day (lungs) but i reserve this right to myself, and the decision does not involve any politician or pope.

[3catwoman3]

27. A much better term is MAID -- Medical Assistance In Dying.

[markie]

30. absolutely PRO

my body, my choice... although within that context, is hopefully a caring community... my husband was in a lot of pain, and I told him I would help in any way I could if he made that choice.... it didn't get to that point, but I would have respected his wishes.

[genxlib]

34. It is the ultimate freedom in self determination

Personally, I would not restrict it to terminal conditions. I think quality of life matters. If I were to lose my whole family in an auto accident and ended up an old quadriplegic I am fairly certain I would want to follow them. I know it is a sensitive subject surrounding mental health but there are many kinds of pain that are cruel to force someone to bear.

In my opinion, resistance to death when it is desired by cogent adults is a religious hang up. Like most religious hang-ups, it should not be enforced on the masses in a free secular society.

[Goonch]

35. As of February 18, 2026, Pennsylvania House Bill 1109 (the "Compassionate Aid in Dying Act") is currently referred....

to the House Judiciary Committee.


First introduced on April 3, 2025, the bill has been carried over into the 2026 legislative session. It currently sits at a 25% progression status, meaning it has been introduced but has not yet advanced to a full chamber vote.

Bill Overview
The legislation aims to establish a legal framework for "medical aid in dying" for terminally ill residents.

[Ferrets are Cool]

36. ALL in.

My body, my wishes.

[sinkingfeeling]

37. I'm all for it. I like the Illinois law.

[markodochartaigh]

38. As a registered nurse

I'm all for euthanasia. I have seen people dying in pain and how stressful that is for the patient and the family. The only reasons to keep someone alive through a tortuous end of life are a religious belief imposed by people who don't have to suffer the torture, a vain hope for a miraculous recovery, and the lucrative extraction of profit by the "health" care industry, 20% of which goes to administration and 20% of which goes to insurance companies.

[mike_c]

39. I've been a supporter all my life

Live free AND die.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

41. me too, mike_c

i'm a firm believer in it. If physicians take a vow to "do no harm", I can't think of a BIGGER HARM than to allow torturous and prolonged suffering before death.

[multigraincracker]

42. Seems like only churches are against it.

They are trying to save you from burning in hell for eternity.

I understand asphyxiation with helium is the least painful method.

[highplainsdem]

43. See this article that Diana Rigg's daughter, Rachael Stirling, wrote about Rigg's final days:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/09/diana-rigg-assisted-dying-rachael-stirling-mother-cancer

[quaint]

45. I support assisted suicide but I share concerns of those with disabilities.

Disability Groups Opposed to Assisted Suicide Laws

ADAPT – American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today
ADAPT National
American Association of People with Disabilities
Assn of Programs for Rural Independent Living
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Center for Public Representation
Disability Rights Center & Road to Freedom Bus Tour
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
National Council on Disability
National Council on Independent Living
National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
Not Dead Yet
TASH
The Arc of the United States
United Spinal Association
World Institute on Disability

As a person with a disability and a wheelchair-user, I’m proud that the disability community has overwhelmingly opposed the legalization of assisted suicide. It’s a deadly mix with our broken, profit-driven health care system, where financial pressures already play far too great a role. Direct coercion is not even necessary. If insurers deny, or even merely delay, approval of expensive, life-giving treatments, patients will, in effect, be steered toward assisted suicide, if it is legal.

Contrary to the claims of its supporters, it would radically decrease, not increase, individual self-determination, due to the significant risk of abuse. It poses substantial danger to people with disabilities and many other people in vulnerable circumstances. For example, people with depression are given lethal drugs in Oregon, despite the claims of proponents that this condition disqualifies a person. Elder abuse is a growing but still largely unreported reality that threatens to pressure seniors toward an early death. Moreover, the supposed safeguards in the Oregon and Washington State laws don’t really protect patients. If one’s doctor refuses lethal drugs, the patient or family can—and do—simply shop for another doctor. And nothing in the law can protect patients when family pressures, financial or emotional, distort patient choice.

--Marilyn Golden, Senior Policy Analyst, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

[malthaussen]

46. Basically? None of my business.

Like any other private health decision, it is the provenance of the person involved and those he chooses to engage in it. It is none of my goddam business.

-- Mal

[mopinko]

47. i suspect it will actually prolong life for some, like hospice care does.

ppl who r dying take their own lives NOW. they have to choose a moment when they r still capable of doing it themselves.
good hospice care results in ppl sticking around longer, not giving up, knowing they can end it when they’re ready. they savor the time they have left w family, instead of living in fear. it’s not a secret that sometimes they get an ‘extra dose’ of morphine when they feel it’s time to go. or they hoard doses for the end.

i’m totally in favor of letting ppl pick the right time. it’s not only a relief in the end, it’s a relief the whole journey.

[justaprogressive]

48. 100% behind it

the people who take that course really need to.

[Intractable]

49. It depends what's on the other side.

[Dorothy V]

50. I am a retired nurse. I saw some patients suffer terribly before the end came. I also saw quadriplegics who lived

fulfilling lives.
So - your life, your choice. End it or live it.
Also, my life, my choice, and it's nobody's business which I choose.
P.S. I just happen to be a Christian.

[OC375]

51. We are more humane to our pets than our people sometimes

My mother-in-law suffered (not terribly) but needlessly, catheterized and taking Lasix, whacked on morphine, over a few weeks in a medical bed that kept her upright and not drowning. She died overnight while we were collapsed with exhaustion in the next room.

My cat got excessive love, her favorite food, her own warm comfy blankets and bed, and warm fluids for her skinny body until she got tired and went to sleep. She died in the afternoon when we were home from work and had time to be prepared to be there for her.

No judgement, but I know which one I would choose.

[TexasBushwhacker]

52. Totally pro

I don't even think a person should have to be suffering from a "terminal illness". If their quality of life is so poor that they want to end it, they shouldn't have to do violence to their bodies.

[JustKay]

53. Guard rails are needed to protect the vulnerable, but I support self-determination.

Of course I do, I'm a social worker!

[Laffy Kat]

54. Colorado has been an assisted suicide state since 2024.

I find comfort in knowing I don't have to suffer like my mother did. She died from a peripheral nerve sheath sarcoma. Horrible. It was 1984 and I still have PTSD from watching her go through it.

[Iggo]

55. 100% Pro. (n/t)

[Figarosmom]

56. When someone in pain with no prospect of anything

better, asks for help, I don't believe that when help is given that should be seen as murder.