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Comment on Should parents be allowed to euthanize their children if they have a diagnosis that just isn't worth dealing with?

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Worx@lemmynsfw.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

Eugenics doesn’t solely kill disabled people (who, by the way, were also targeted by Nazis), it’s about improving humanity by removing any humans who are undesirable. If you take that first step in removing undesirable disabled people, it’s an easy step to removing undesirable mentally ill people, queer people (because being gay or trans is often considered a mental illness), Jewish people, etc.

It sounds like I’m making a slippery slope argument, and I am to a certain extent. But there’s also a very famous poem about this - “First they came…”

Consent is not usually part of eugenics programs, and the original post was talking about killing children who definitionally can’t consent to such a big decision. This is why we don’t let children buy houses, surgically transition gender, or have sex with adults. And I did specifically mention that painless suicide is an option that I believe a truly free society should provide - for adults.

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Worx@lemmynsfw.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I realise I didn’t explain why it’s bad for its own sake, as I was asked to… but seriously, murder is wrong whether it’s for eugenics reasons or just because you like killing. Do I have to explain that?

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JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
A very thoughtful and considered response. I’d agree that if consent is not a factor, that, in all but some extreme cases (someone in a vegatitive state experiencing extreme suffering, for example), you should not kill someone without consent. I would disagree that only >18 year olds can give informed consent, it is an arbitrary age that is different in many countries and cultures. Perhaps an individual perspective rather than a flat cut off age would be more appropriate.

I apologise for implying that I was not aware disabled people were also killed by the Nazis, and well as Roma and Sinti, political dissidents, etc

I think we agree that assisted suicide should be able for the people who consent, it’s just a matter of the details of who exactly can consent.

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- Worx@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨week⁩ ago
  
  A very thoughtful and considered response.
  
  Thank you :)
  
  I would disagree that only >18 year olds can give informed consent
  
  No disagreement needed, because that’s not what I said. I specifically said “children” because like you, I think that 18 is an arbitrary age
  
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