Three Hypothetical Situations

[1] Your house burns down, killing your wife and child and destroying all of your possessions. You've lost everything that matters to you, and you can't imagine starting over again with nothing. You can't go on living with the pain, so you decide that you want to commit suicide. Fortunately, your family, friends, and doctors are approving and supportive - they agree that it would be a mercy to end your life at once.

[2] You've never had a romantic relationship or even any close friendships, and you wouldn't even know where to start trying to establish one. You don't think you add anything of value to the world. You feel desperately lonely every day of your life. You can't go on living with the pain, so you decide that you want to commit suicide. Fortunately, your family, acquaintances, and doctors are approving and supportive - they agree that it would be a mercy to end your life at once.

[3] You've been diagnosed with an incurable illness. You can feel yourself getting weaker and less able to keep up with your normal activities, and you know that your condition is likely to worsen until you die. You hate the idea of depending on others. You can't go on living with the pain, so you decide that you want to commit suicide. Fortunately, your family, friends, and doctors are approving and supportive - they agree that it would be a mercy to end your life at once.

If you're like most people, you think that my first two hypothetical situations are appalling and sad, but the third one makes a fair amount of sense. What makes that third story so different? Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be exploring that question in a series of posts about euthanasia. Stay tuned.