this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023
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On the one hand I think this is a humane option that people should have during palliative care.
However, I am also reasonably confident this will be used to facilitate capital punishment as well. I have mixed feelings about the use of the death penalty, but generally this does seem like a preferable solution to the other available methods so maybe that too is a small mercy in of itself.
Why would you tie this to capital punishment? That isn't even legal in any of western Europe.
Well for one thing because this (see link) was already a national news story earlier this month. So, it isn't exactly that far of a leap in logic for these suicide booths to be replicated for use in capital punishment in places where it is still utilized, like the United States.
One could even argue that it makes the process less morally objectionable, and therefore might make it harder to justify banning the practice. I am simply playing devil's advocate here because this is precisely the kind of logic that is already pervasive in US politics when justifying otherwise morally objectionable decisions.