Hacker News Reader

> Thou shalt not kill

IMO, the question at hand is more like: ‘should we keep someone on life support when there is little to no chance that person will get better?’. And is taking someone off life support really the same as murder?

View on HN

I believe the question is much, much bigger than simply the involvement of life support. Just address that issue, and you've ignored many people who suffer unnecessarily with no reasonable hope. For example, ALS sufferers don't require life support until the very late stages of the disease. This is long after they've lost the ability to move, speak, or interact meaningfully with those around them.

They still require to be fed and watered and moved. You could neglect to do that.

I do think we should mention that there are definitely 2 cases to consider, maybe 3. First, if that person has made his choice clear. Second if he hasn't. Second case can be split up into "family/friends/significant others want to end it" and otherwise.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com