{"id":90283,"date":"2020-03-06T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=90283"},"modified":"2020-03-05T19:06:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T00:06:12","slug":"death-on-demand-comes-to-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=90283","title":{"rendered":"(1st Things) Wesley Smith–Death On Demand Comes To Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

…even I never expected full-bore death on demand to arrive in the West for another decade. I was too optimistic. A recent ruling from Germany\u2019s highest court has cast right-to-die incrementalism aside and conjured a fundamental right both to commit suicide and to receive assistance in doing it. Moreover, the decision has explicitly rejected limiting the right to people diagnosed with illnesses or disabilities. As a matter of protecting \u201cthe right of personality,\u201d the court decreed that \u201cself-determined death\u201d is a virtually unlimited fundamental liberty that the government must guarantee to protect \u201cautonomy.\u201d In other words, the German people now have the right to kill themselves at any time and for any reason. From the decision<\/a> (published English version, my emphasis):<\/p>\n

The right to a self-determined death<\/em> is not limited to situations defined by external causes<\/em> like serious or incurable illnesses, nor does it only apply in certain stages of life or illness. Rather, this right is guaranteed in all stages of a person\u2019s existence<\/em>. . . . The individual\u2019s decision to end their own life, based on how they personally define quality of life and a meaningful existence, eludes any evaluation on the basis of general values, religious dogmas, societal norms for dealing with life and death, or consideration of objective rationality<\/em>. It is thus not incumbent upon the individual to further explain or justify their decision; rather their decision must, in principle, be respected by state and society as an act of self-determination.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The court wasn\u2019t done. The right to suicide also includes a right to assist suicide<\/em>:<\/p>\n

The right to take one\u2019s own life also encompasses the freedom to seek and, if offered, utilize assistance provided by third parties for this purpose. . . . <\/em>Therefore, the constitutional guarantee of the right to suicide corresponds to equally far-reaching constitutional protection extended to the acts carried out by persons rendering suicide assistance<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Sobering essay on events in Germany: https:\/\/t.co\/0GArgkFKOA<\/a>
\n“A society that believes in nothing can offer no argument even against death. A culture that has lost its faith in life cannot comprehend why it should be endured”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ibn Maghreb (@IbnMaghrebi) March 5, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n