Why do so many people have a death wish?
Yes it is. Providing you aren't harming other people. I fully believe in autonomy although I think it's situationally dependent when it comes to "death wishes ie does the person have the capacity to make the decision? I don't think it's reasonable to say people can't drink, smoke, perform stunts, wrestle crocodiles etc Providing they're at an age to make these decisions, are informed about the possible consequences and have the capacity to make these decisions. Examples of people who might not have capacity: People who might be acutely mentally unwell, people who are at a certain stage of dementia, people that might have severe and profound/multiple learning disabilities. Im also a supporter of legalising euthanasia for those that believe it's in their best interests as I don't believe in forcing people to suffer however I understand that given its potential for abuse that people are reticent to legalise something like this. I do not support the murder of other people such as the death sentence. I don't believe we have the right to decide who should die and the possibility of even a single innocent person dying makes it reprehensible to me. I believe it was the execution of an innocent man that brought about the end of the death sentence in the UK. My stance on abortion is mixed I personally couldn't do it but I believe women should have full autonomy over their bodies providing that the abortion takes place within the legal time frame. However I find the subject upsetting as a whole because it's just such a sad situation and I admire the strength of the women faced with it irrespective of their decision. I mention this because it's tangentially related, some women are told they might not survive child birth. There was a death in Ireland not so long ago due to a woman being denied abortion: Death of Savita Halappanavar. Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old dentist, died on 28 October 2012 at University Hospital Galway in Ireland due to complications of a septic miscarriage at 17 weeks' gestation after being denied an abortion.