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linda-stanley t1_jauz5l4 wrote

I wish this was an option offered in the USA. Belgium must have a more compassionate society than our own.

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Sellazar t1_jav67j5 wrote

I am originally from the Netherlands, where Euthanasia is an option. The stories I hear here in the UK make me so sad and angry.

The poor man who ended up completely paralysed, he is a shell of who he was and has to be conscious while his loved ones have to sacrifice their lives to care for him.

He just wants to die. There will be no cure or relief from his situation. He will just need to wait for it to happen or for one of his loved ones to risk jail to do it for him.

Meanwhile, a "pro life" advocate will be shouting that all lives are sacred and should be protected. So, says the perfectly healthy person, probably planning to go to the beach with their family later that day.

There is no empathy, just selfish shits.

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ilikepizza2much t1_javqnts wrote

That same selfish shit is probably anti abortion, and pro death penalty

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senorcoach t1_javuh2j wrote

>and pro death penalty

then they aren't pro-ife

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Literature-South t1_javxv6p wrote

Welcome to America.

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malphonso t1_jaw0z8b wrote

They argue that it's different because they're executing an adult that made bad choices and is facing the consequences. While taking a pill to induce miscarriage is killing a poor innocent baby.

They even extend this logic to pregnancies, resulting from rape. They can't be aborted because that would be "punishing an innocent child for the actions of someone else."

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Literature-South t1_jaw9fk2 wrote

They also say “all life is sacred” when clearly they don’t mean it.

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Temporary_Inner t1_jazij3w wrote

A legitimate argument against euthanasia is that it would be used as a replacement to further access to healthcare. In any country, you're never really going to see the rich use euthanasia unless they're very very old or at the very very end of palliative care because they have access to quality of life enhancing medications, physical therapy, and technology.

A country without universal access to healthcare, such as the United States, would see an inordinate amount of poor people choose euthanasia due to their inability to access healthcare. A real life "have you tried killing all the poor?"

The UN Human Rights experts have raised this concern with Canada, a government which approved of a 61 year old's medically assisted euthanasia when his only significant impairment was hearing loss...after he was checked in for being a suicide risk. European countries seem to have more stringent laws and better access to healthcare, but the solution to a lack of support for the impoverished can't be government sanctioned suicide. That has to be incredibly limited in scope.

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ilikepizza2much t1_jazwe54 wrote

This is a very legitimate concern, but I imagine Canada actually has comparatively good health care. And one depressed deaf man is not enough of a reason to deny service to other desperate people

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WW3_Historian t1_jav5fj3 wrote

In many US states it happens automatically. Especially if you kill five children.

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[deleted] t1_javb0la wrote

[removed]

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alexeands t1_javi8uw wrote

Fun fact - it frequently costs the state less money to keep people in prison for life than it costs to kill them.

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I_Smokes_Rocks t1_javp2pa wrote

Source on this?

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Head_of_Lettuce t1_javr6ih wrote

It sounds counterintuitive but it’s true in many cases. The reason is that death penalty cases are much more expensive for all parties than other types of cases (i.e. life in prison), because the trials themselves are often more numerous (appeals, etc) and longer than they otherwise would be. Those costs often outweigh the costs of just convicting someone to life in prison, and paying to keep them confined for the rest of their life. Also, many people end up either having their convictions overturned or commuted to life in prison, making the whole thing a wasted expense.

Here is a paper from the government of Indiana which breaks down some of the costs involved. It doesn’t explicitly state that death penalty cases are more expensive I don’t think, but it should give you an idea.

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malphonso t1_jaw1fl2 wrote

In addition to the court costs, there's the addition housing costs associated with death row. A normal housing unit may have 50 or 60 inmates in a dorm to two guards. A death row unit will have 10-1 man cells to 1 guard. Even if there's only one death row inmate. Getting close to execution it will be one guard watching that one inmate separate from other housing units.

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nsci2ece t1_jawoqko wrote

It's because of something called appeals. The US is not China where once a death sentence is handed out, it actually happens within the same month. Do you want the US to be as liberal with the death penalty application as China? Because that's the only way the death penalty becomes cheaper.

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beyondbliss t1_jb1uwt9 wrote

It’s a well known fact, or should be a well known fact. Due to the cost and errors made, a lot of people are starting to not agree with the death penalty.

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Katana1369 t1_jav77of wrote

Actually Andrea Yates got life without parole in Texas of all places. They usually kill at the drop of a hat.

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SkunkMonkey t1_javuca0 wrote

She was white and female.

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thejoeface t1_jaw5xlv wrote

She was suffering from severe post pardum psychosis and her husband was continuing to pump babies into her despite their doctor telling him to stop

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Katana1369 t1_jawevh8 wrote

Don't forget the doctor also wouldn't prescribe meds. If I remember right because the husband said not to. Both of them should have gone to jail too.

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GiraffePolka t1_jaw2gnh wrote

It was also very clear that her husband was forcing her to have more children despite being told over and over again she wasn't mentally well enough to handle it

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Katana1369 t1_jaweoor wrote

And suffered from a legitimate medical condition but yes in Texas white folks don't get death as much as people of color. That actually goes for all crimes every where.

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BeleagueredWDW t1_jaw2xvu wrote

I was born in Belgium as both of my parents were in the military. It was off base, and I so wish I could get dual citizenship. My birth certificate is even in French. I know this is a random comment, but your post made just think about it.

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Illustrious_Crab1060 t1_jbc4qs7 wrote

But you do have to make sure especially in the US people aren't pushed to that option because money

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