Soon, You Will (Legally) Choose When You Want to Pass Away

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I received a terrible DM last week about someone who followed me on Twitter.

This person was a significant voice in the realm of Real Estate Twitter. I caught glimpses of his tweets occasionally. My forte isn't real estate, though I did write an article on how it is very popular now. Word is, financial turmoil plagued him, as he grappled with the challenges of a market burdened by high rates and sluggish sales. Distressingly, he had sought out conversations, sharing his struggles before this tragic decision. It's heart-wrenching, and, unfortunately, not an isolated tale. Many suicides come from shame or loss of financial and social status than from medical diagnoses.

It reminds me of a quiet revolution happening in the western world.

A Social Change To End of Life Treatment

US and Europe have witnessed a palpable uptick in the acceptance of assisted suicide. It’s being led by this demographic: those with less rigid religious convictions, the youth, the well-educated, and the white-collar workers. Recent history reminds us that this group is very influential.

 Look at the age groups who are in favor of it. This is the new generation. People want access to these services.

It is a phenomenon that I don’t see slowing down. In fact, I bet many of the people reading this newsletter may opt to exit life on their own terms many years from now. The near future looks to be a world where this will be normal to decide. The technology and law will make it painless, the government will make it legal, and, most importantly, it will be socially accepted.

In This Newsletter

1) The Rise of Assisted-Suicide: Governments around the world are implementing regulations on assisted-suicide and the turnout is growing every year. No longer is this choice reserved solely for those at death's doorstep.

2) Why It Has Grown So Fast: The bedrock of Western thought is deeply anchored in individualism. This ethos has, in many respects, enriched us, propelling each individual's narrative akin to a cinematic journey. Given this trajectory, I foresee assisted suicide expanding to encompass every shade of pain.

3) From Post-Christian to Pre-Christian: It is likely our attitudes toward suicide today are still in the Christian influenced stage and we will be shifting to a more Pre-Christian attitude toward suicide in the future. What does that mean?

4) What Can Suicide Tell us About Happiness? It is hard to determine which countries are the most happiness. But suicide is one metric that can glean some insight.

The Rise of Assisted Suicide

I, like many others, witnessed a loved one suffer and die from terrible a disease like cancer. It changed how I thought about assisted-suicide. It strengthened my belief in an individual's right to choose a dignified end. This isn’t a new thing. Historically, doctors, with family agreement, would quietly help terminally ill patients pass away. It’s only recently that, this has become an explicit right. Many nations began legalizing euthanasia, initially for terminal cases with strict safeguards. Over time, these laws expanded to include non-terminal reasons as well.

The Netherlands pioneered the legalization of euthanasia in 2002, with Belgium quickly joining that same year. Luxembourg followed in 2009. In 2020, Germany's Constitutional Court lifted the ban on assisted suicide services under specific conditions. Spain greenlit euthanasia in 2021, while Portugal began its phased approval process. Canada introduced medical assistance in dying (MAID) in 2016. In the US, states like California, Oregon, and Washington, among others, permit physician-assisted suicide. Australia's state of Victoria approved voluntary assisted dying in 2017, and Western Australia did the same in 2019, implementing it in 2021.

The numbers who have decided to undergo this have increased over the past few years.

From Terminal Disease to Pain - A New Standard?

Someone wants to kill themselves. Why do you care? That’s their life. You have your own life. They get to choose what happens in their life. And you get to choose what happens in your life. Especially if they tell you they are in pain. If you’re in the West, this is a very powerful idea.

Our commitment to individualism isn't just a trend; it's a deeply held conviction. We champion personal rights and freedoms, and this staunch belief in autonomy has inevitably guided us to the doorstep of assisted suicide. Simply put, if we firmly control our lives, it's only logical we'd want a say in our deaths, especially when pain or a dwindling quality of life comes knocking. Now all you need is the government to help you with this. Which is what’s happening. Slowly.

Take a look at the case of Canada. Their assisted-suicide program was once reserved for people whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable and were irremediably ill.

In 2021, Canada broadened its assisted dying law to include those enduring intolerable suffering from illnesses, disabilities, or diseases, even if they weren't on death's doorstep. By 2022, euthanizations in Canada surged to over 13,000, marking a 31.2% annual increase from the previous year. Alarmingly, 4.1% of all Canadian deaths in 2022 resulted from euthanasia, positioning MAID as the nation's fifth primary cause of death.

The global spotlight shone on this issue when CTV shared "Sophia's" story, a 51-year-old Toronto resident. Plagued by multiple chemical sensitivities and failing to find an affordable, scent-free apartment, Sophia chose MAID. At the heart of such decisions? Personal autonomy. People increasingly demand control over the timing and manner of their demise.

Let’s take a look at the Netherlands

From 2012 to 2021, the Dutch government's euthanasia review committee reported 60,000 individuals chose euthanasia. To shed light on its application and interpretation, the committee publicized documents for over 900 of those individuals. Predominantly, these were older patients grappling with diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Which is what most people think about are the perfect patients for assisted-suicide. Notably, among these publicly disclosed cases, 39 were individuals identified as autistic or intellectually disabled. While a select few were older, 18 from this subgroup were under the age of 50.

You saw a little of this shift in attitude during Covid when people acted like it was just nature’s euthanasia of the very old.

From Post-Christian to Pre-Christian Attitudes on Suicide

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