[Abandoned] Medically Assisted Suicide

[New Gren Artle]

Please feel free to leave your opinions and suggestions, and please submit a vote in the poll!
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Under this act, everyone has the right to die if they meet international regulations.

To qualify for medically assisted suicide within member nations, you must;

a. Be diagnosed with an terminal illness with no improvement expected.

b. Have been suffering for at least one month with no improvements, and a recommendation from your medical physician for assisted suicide must be given with your application.

c. Be, or be above the Age of Majority for the nation. Anyone below this age may apply, provided written consent is given by the parents or legal guardians of the patient.

The World Assembly believes individuals that meet government regulations have the right to make their own decision, therefore nobody shall encourage or discourage Medically Assisted Suicide.

Under this act, every member Nation of the World Assembly must make medically assisted suicide accessible in at least 80% of hospitals (to reduce costs).

Medically Assisted Suicide must be induced via the most efficient and pain free method available within the nation.

The drug must meet the following requirements:

a. Does not cause pain or suffering to the patient

b. Does not prolong their death

During your medically assisted suicide, you may have family members present with you.

Applications for medically assisted suicide must be accessible at most hospitals and government building.

Applications must go to government hired personnel for review.

Anyone who allows medically assisted suicide for someone who does not meet government standards will be prosecuted.

The World Assembly believes everyone who meets government regulations has the right to die if they choose to.

[This City of Ours]

Kasam the Merchant-Ambassador seems perplexed. "Why make it so complicated? Back home if someone wants mercy and can't do it him or herself, they just ask someone with a knife to help. I get that restricting it to doctors would help avoid the helper being accused of murder, but really. Waiting two years in agony? Requiring 50 hours of training? Requiring drugs that might not be available? That just seems bizarre and inhumane."

[New Gren Artle]

Kasam the Merchant-Ambassador seems perplexed. "Why make it so complicated? Back home if someone wants mercy and can't do it him or herself, they just ask someone with a knife to help. I get that restricting it to doctors would help avoid the helper being accused of murder, but really. Waiting two years in agony? Requiring 50 hours of training? Requiring drugs that might not be available? That just seems bizarre and inhumane."

Thank you for your opinion. I heard you out and I eliminated the required 50 hours of training entirely, so now they just have to be trained in the field. I also reduced the period of time you have to be suffering to qualify to 6 months. I did not completely get rid of it because in my opinion if there's no requirement on how long you've had the illness for, anyone could apply and possibly participate in Medically Assisted Suicide when they still might recover in a 6 month period. I do not believe Medically Assisted suicide is inhumane in any way, if anything it is the most humane. Denying someone the right to end their lives if they want to and making them suffer is inhumane. Thanks again for your opinion!

[Separatist Peoples]

Ooc: this is covered by GAR#285.

[This City of Ours]

"You haven't answered one of my concerns. Why require the use of drugs? They're rarely available in my home. I mean sometimes you find unlabeled bottles, or ones that have labels but not in any language we know, but it's a rare thing indeed to find anything we can identify."

[Kenmoria]

"What's the category for this proposal? Also I would strongly suggest putting some age limit on the proposal, even if it is incredibly low. For example anyone below the age of 6 doesn't really have the mental ability to choose euthanasia.

[Separatist Peoples]

OOC: The author should do some research prior to drafting, as most of their proposals have been covered already by extant law. The "throw stuff against the wall and see what sticks" approach is a bad one.

[Imperium Anglorum]

The "throw stuff against the wall and see what sticks" approach is a bad one.

Mostly because the WAHQ staff is very uptight about cleaning the walls...

[New Gren Artle]

"You haven't answered one of my concerns. Why require the use of drugs? They're rarely available in my home. I mean sometimes you find unlabeled bottles, or ones that have labels but not in any language we know, but it's a rare thing indeed to find anything we can identify."

What else would you suggest? Drugs are the most humane in my opinion.

[This City of Ours]

What else would you suggest? Drugs are the most humane in my opinion.

Kasam sighs. "Please think. I just said drugs aren't reliably available in my, ah, "nation," so them being the most humane is irrelevant in our case. And while we're not part of the World Assembly, I'm sure there are other nations on the same tether*. Therefore, the alternative would have to be something mechanical. I already mentioned the knife- I'm sure you can think of something else fast and simple."

(( * the City equivalent of 'in the same boat'))

[Deropia]

"You haven't answered one of my concerns. Why require the use of drugs? They're rarely available in my home. I mean sometimes you find unlabeled bottles, or ones that have labels but not in any language we know, but it's a rare thing indeed to find anything we can identify."

What else would you suggest? Drugs are the most humane in my opinion.

"I believe the good ambassadors' position here is that drugs and medications are not readily available where they're from. By mandating specifically that physician-assisted suicide be carried out by what is essentially a drug overdose, it would leave them unable to comply with the proposal as written, forcing them into non-compliance by either not being able to offer assisted suicide or having it performed in a way that is not outlined here...I had my own objections...what where they..." Jason leans back in his chair, tapping the end of his pen on the armrest as he reads over the proposal again "Oh! Right!"

c. Be above the age of 16, as they are not legally competent to make their own decisions under this age.

"Arbitrary numbers wont work, this assembly has a multitude of member species, some of which mature faster than others, some slower. I would change this 'Be above the Age of Majority in their nation.'"

Physicians MUST be trained in the area of Medically Assisted Suicide.

"Why? I'm pretty sure someone who has undergone the years of training to become a physician would already have the knowledge required to end a persons life."

Applications for medically assisted suicide must be accessible at EVERY hospital. Applications must go to government hired trained personnel to be reviewed.

"Holy bureaucracy! So, let me get this straight, people have to talk to their doctor, be diagnosed with an incurable, fatal illness. Wait 6 months and then apply to the government for permission? Right. No. This is a decision that should be left up to the patient, their family and their team of healthcare professionals."

This act believes everyone, who meets government regulations, has the right to participate in Medically Assisted Suicide if they choose to.

"Acts don't believe anything. So, I would change that to 'The World Assembly believes' or something along those lines." Jason sighs, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk.
"I don't think this is a bad idea, not at all, polished up and refined, it's an idea I can support. But until the issues that myself and others have raised have been addressed..."

[New Gren Artle]

What else would you suggest? Drugs are the most humane in my opinion.

"I believe the good ambassadors' position here is that drugs and medications are not readily available where they're from. By mandating specifically that physician-assisted suicide be carried out by what is essentially a drug overdose, it would leave them unable to comply with the proposal as written, forcing them into non-compliance by either not being able to offer assisted suicide or having it performed in a way that is not outlined here...I had my own objections...what where they..." Jason leans back in his chair, tapping the end of his pen on the armrest as he reads over the proposal again "Oh! Right!"

c. Be above the age of 16, as they are not legally competent to make their own decisions under this age.

"Arbitrary numbers wont work, this assembly has a multitude of member species, some of which mature faster than others, some slower. I would change this 'Be above the Age of Majority in their nation.'"

Physicians MUST be trained in the area of Medically Assisted Suicide.

"Why? I'm pretty sure someone who has undergone the years of training to become a physician would already have the knowledge required to end a persons life."

Applications for medically assisted suicide must be accessible at EVERY hospital. Applications must go to government hired trained personnel to be reviewed.

"Holy bureaucracy! So, let me get this straight, people have to talk to their doctor, be diagnosed with an incurable, fatal illness. Wait 6 months and then apply to the government for permission? Right. No. This is a decision that should be left up to the patient, their family and their team of healthcare professionals."

This act believes everyone, who meets government regulations, has the right to participate in Medically Assisted Suicide if they choose to.

"Acts don't believe anything. So, I would change that to 'The World Assembly believes' or something along those lines." Jason sighs, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his desk.
"I don't think this is a bad idea, not at all, polished up and refined, it's an idea I can support. But until the issues that myself and others have raised have been addressed..."

Thanks for your opinion. I edited more.

[This City of Ours]

((OOC: Please save your drafts so people can see the progression. It's typical for people to put previous drafts in spoilers, labeled in order.))

Kasam groans. "So after you were told that different nations have different ages of majority.... your response was to raise the age from 16 to 18 and assume that anyone below that would have both parents available for signatures. I'm not sure why you did that or why you thought it made sense.

Also why do you keep insisting on making things as inconvenient as possible? Do you know how hideously expensive guns and bullets are where I am? Let me make it more clear: resources are so scarce back home that we need everything we use for anything to be reusable. Flame and rust, my best dress is made from a set of curtains because even clothing material is something of questionable reliability. In my apartment I have a home-made water evaporation trap because the water I pee out is too valuable to waste. We absolutely can not rely on anything that cannot be reused."

[Serrus]

((OOC: Please save your drafts so people can see the progression. It's typical for people to put previous drafts in spoilers, labeled in order.))

Kasam groans. "So after you were told that different nations have different ages of majority.... your response was to raise the age from 16 to 18 and assume that anyone below that would have both parents available for signatures. I'm not sure why you did that or why you thought it made sense.

Also why do you keep insisting on making things as inconvenient as possible? Do you know how hideously expensive guns and bullets are where I am? Let me make it more clear: resources are so scarce back home that we need everything we use for anything to be reusable. Flame and rust, my best dress is made from a set of curtains because even clothing material is something of questionable reliability. In my apartment I have a home-made water evaporation trap because the water I pee out is too valuable to waste. We absolutely can not rely on anything that cannot be reused."

Coco says, "Do you need stuff? I have the foreign aid department on speed dial. Heck, I can get you a large supply of raw material, if you want.
But if you don't want the stuff, just let me know and I'll get the heck out of your hair."

[This City of Ours]

"Raw materials won't do much good because we don't have the fuel to process them." Kasam starts counting down on her fingers. "In order, the things we need the most are water, fuel -which includes both batteries and liquid fuel such as lamp oil or gasoline-, and parts. Light bulbs, fiddly mechanical bits and bobs, we're not picky. We're good at jury-rigging what we need from what we have, but some things are hard to substitute. It's hard to make a bulb that lasts any length of time."

She shrugs. "Usually we grab what we can from the Underground or the Markets, but it's very random about what you get. 'S why we need everything to be reusable, because you never know when you'll get a replacement. Currently we have a glut of iron products- candlesticks, knickknacks, padlocks, knives of varying quality- but hardly any cloth at all. We're getting enough food and water for now but water's the kind of thing everyone hoards because if it goes into decline things get really bad really quick. No one wants what happened to Overpass to happen to us."

[Deropia]

"Alright, here are the changes that I would make, personally." Jason says, pulling out a blue and red dual editing pen. "I'll also explain why I'd make these changes."

To qualify for medically assisted suicide within member nations, you must;

a. Have an incurable and most likely fatal illness Be diagnosed with a terminal illness, from which recovery is not expected.

"I feel that just reads better. Personally."

b. Have been suffering for at least one month with no improvements, and a recommendation from your medical physician for assisted suicide must be given with your application.

"I don't like the idea of having to actually apply to a government body for anything to do with someones private medical care."

c. Be above the age of 18. Age of Majority, as determined by national laws. Anyone below this age may apply, but both parent signatures are required. seek life ending treatment, provided consent is obtained by from the patients parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s).

"As I said before, arbitrary numbers are NOT going to work here since there are some species in this assembly that do not reach maturity until they are in their hundreds, and some who reach emotional and physical maturity at age ten. Got rid of apply because, well as I have stated, applying to a government body for medical treatment is something I am not entirely comfortable with, as it should be the decision of the patient, their family, and their healthcare professionals, not a bureaucrat in some stuffy government office."

The World Assembly believes individuals that meet government regulations have the right to make their own decision, therefore nobody shall encourage or discourage Medically Assisted Suicide.
Under this act, every member Nation of the World Assembly must make medically assisted suicide accessible in 75% of hospitals (to reduce costs).

"I'm not a fan at all of arbitrary, unnecessary numbers in proposals. Why not 80%? Or 50%?"

Medically Assisted Suicide must be inducedby a drug that meets government standards. If a drug is not available in the nation, trained government employees may use a gun to kill the patient. The government employee must shoot the patient directly in the head, creating a quick and pain free death. via the most efficient and pain free method available.

"Mandating a specific method of death? That's not going to work. No no no. See, there are some nations here who don't even have the technology to produce firearms. Also, there are nations who have more advanced weapons systems, which would be far less painful to the patient. Plus, when people get shot in the head it's not always a painless death."

Applications for medically assisted suicide must be accessible at EVERY hospital.

Applications must go to government hired personnel to be reviewed.

"I'll be accused of being...what is the old saying? Ah, yes, a broken record, but again, this is a decision that should be left up to the patient and care givers. Not some inane bureaucracy. Besides, would there be so many suicides that we'd have to create an entirely new department within our government to deal with it? I think not!"

Jason clicks his pen shut and sets it on the table "I'm sure others will point out any stylistic changes they feel would be needed. But I think that should take care of some of the concerns raised by some of the other ambassadors."

[Serrus]

"Raw materials won't do much good because we don't have the fuel to process them." Kasam starts counting down on her fingers. "In order, the things we need the most are water, fuel -which includes both batteries and liquid fuel such as lamp oil or gasoline-, and parts. Light bulbs, fiddly mechanical bits and bobs, we're not picky. We're good at jury-rigging what we need from what we have, but some things are hard to substitute. It's hard to make a bulb that lasts any length of time."

She shrugs. "Usually we grab what we can from the Underground or the Markets, but it's very random about what you get. 'S why we need everything to be reusable, because you never know when you'll get a replacement. Currently we have a glut of iron products- candlesticks, knickknacks, padlocks, knives of varying quality- but hardly any cloth at all. We're getting enough food and water for now but water's the kind of thing everyone hoards because if it goes into decline things get really bad really quick. No one wants what happened to Overpass to happen to us."

"Ah. No prob, Bo-er, Kasim." Coco hurriedly transcribes the list in English and Fluffsperanto (the language of sapient animals).

-Water
-Fuel (batteries and liquid)
-Parts
-----
Watah
Powah soorce (enrg + firefyool)
Bitzenbobbins

Coco then bolts off, presumably to take stock of the Serrin foreign aid things.

[Sierra Lyricalia]

Ooc: this is covered by GAR#285.

OOC: The author should do some research prior to drafting, as most of their proposals have been covered already by extant law. The "throw stuff against the wall and see what sticks" approach is a bad one.

OOC: I'll reiterate that this proposal is in fact illegal for contradicting GA Res. #285. New Gren Artle, please look through the passed (extant) resolutions list (link in my signature if you have trouble finding it) before posting another draft.

[Imperium Anglorum]

If you want to fully legalise medically assisted suicide in all member states – you would have to repeal CD's abomination of a human rights resolution. I'd be happy to support such an endeavour.

[Bears Armed]

"What's the category for this proposal? Also I would strongly suggest putting some age limit on the proposal, even if it is incredibly low. For example anyone below the age of 6 doesn't really have the mental ability to choose euthanasia.

OOC: Setting a specific age limit for anything, rather than just requiring that the people involved have been recognized as legally competent, would be illegal for contradiction of GA Resolution #299 (Clause 4).