Short Quiz

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johnkarls
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Short Quiz

Post by johnkarls »

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SHORT QUIZ -- ASSISTED SUICIDE

1. What is the difference between suicide (whether or not assisted) and euthanasia?

2. Is euthanasia illegal in all 50 states?

3. Is assisted suicide illegal in all 50 states?

4. Did Massachusetts voters narrowly defeat a ballot initiative last month to legalize assisted suicide in line with the statutes of Oregon and Washington?

5. Is the illegality of assisted suicide in 47 states the result of religion, primarily Christianity?

6. Is suicide a sin under Judaism’s Ten Commandments?

7. Is suicide a sin under Christianity’s Two Commandments?

8. Does the Roman Catholic Church condemn suicide (whether or not assisted) as a sin?

9. Do the Roman Catholic Church and those protestant denominations that view suicide as a sin, view it as a mortal sin (i.e., one that cannot be forgiven)? According to the Bible, how many mortal sins are there?

10. Why should the view of the Roman Catholic Church and some protestant denominations that suicide is a sin compel the rest of the population to refrain from assisted suicide? Isn’t this an Unconstitutional Violation of the Establishment of Religion Clause?

11. Does the view of the Roman Catholic Church and some protestant denominations that suicide is a sin constitute heresy?

12. Was suicide prevalent in the early Christian church to avoid persecution?

13. Was the first Christian to publicly denounce suicide as a sin St. Augustine in the 4th century AD? Was his motivation the curtailment of all the mass suicides that had prevailed in Christian communities to avoid persecution (vs. a theological reason)?

14. Was the first Christian to denounce suicide as a sin on theological grounds (vs. practical grounds) St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century? Did he denounce it as a mortal (unforgivable) sin? Was his theological position that it was an act against God’s will? If it is an act against God’s will, then isn’t all evil in the world (not just pain during a final illness) also God’s will?

15. Since suicide and assisted suicide do not necessarily violate Christ’s Two Commandments, hasn’t St. Thomas Aquinas called Christ a liar?

16. How does society treat a person who has tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide?

17. Is this de facto “one chance at suicide” policy based on the premise that committing suicide is insane? Isn’t it true that the decision to commit suicide could be perfectly rational?

18. Did Shakespeare’s characters often commit suicide for lost love or avoiding public humiliation as well as for many other rational reasons?

19. Do the Oregon and Washington assisted-suicide statutes recognize any reason other than terminal illness? Is pain a requirement?

20. Do all of the other states, so far as is known, permit a terminally-ill patient to reject life-support and die a “natural” death? If pain medications are provided during the “natural” death, then what’s the difference between that and Oregon/Washington?

21. Should assisted-suicide be permitted for reasons other than terminal illness, such as an impairment of the quality of life, or depression, or avoiding public humiliation or chronic illness that is not terminal?

22. Do the proponents of assisted suicide view it as the next great civil-rights issue?

23. Even if assisted suicide is not a civil-rights issue, isn’t it still an equal-protection-of-the-law Constitutional issue because, just like abortion prior to 1973, the wealthy can travel to permissive jurisdictions but the poor are condemned to either suffer or violate the law?

24. How much of the nation’s booming medical costs relate to care during a final illness?

25. What safeguards should be required to insure the decision is voluntary (suicide, whether or not assisted), rather than forced (whether by society or by next-of-kin)?

26. What are the lethal drugs predominantly used for assisted suicide in Oregon and Washington? How easy has it been for wannabe suicides who do not qualify for assistance in Oregon or Washington to obtain lethal drugs?

27. How does suicide by breathing helium work? [Breathing helium is the method featured in the Frontline/PBS documentary.]

28. Now that it is so easy for any wannabe suicide to simply buy helium from a party store that sells it for balloons, how easy is committing suicide painlessly and effectively without any assistance?

29. Is there still the possibility for mishaps, even with helium, that would make desirable treating assisted suicide as a civil right and providing it legal protection?

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