★We should de-stigmatise suicide, our innermost freedom and right
My greatest fear has never been dying. It is and remains not being able to die if I want to.
I fear torture. I fear solitary confinement. I fear dementia. I fear the slow and painful breakdown of my body. I fear dependence and becoming a burden. I fear debilitating depression.
What is there to fear about death, nothingness itself? Maybe an end to joys, a sense of opportunity costs and failed potential, the pain our loved ones might feel at losing us... but these are the preoccupations of the living, not the non-existent.
As a society, we should support people's right to die at a time and in a manner of their choosing. We should try and help them make the decision - we should, of course, encourage them not to die, especially if there is hope for a good life, and provide assistance in building back up towards that. We should create checks and balances to avoid people being manipulated or coerced into choosing to die. We should provide support, both psychological and financial for those they leave behind. We should, in short, legalise suicide.
A leap further, we should de-stigmatise suicide. This is not to say that people should be told to die any more than people should be told to change their gender - only that they should be able to, be educated and supported in deciding to, and not stigmatised if they do.
The freedom to die is our innermost freedom.