People love to point out the hypocrisy of others but it is obvious from these posts they hate being shown their own. They want the death culture when it suits them and then try and put some sort of humanitarian cause to mask their hypocrisy. Quite sad really.

I agree - sanctimonious drivel.

She would have had a peaceful death if she were allowed to buy the drug and euthanase herself in Australia.

Unlike Peter's regular fan club of grandstanding hecklers, I think our notion of the self should be seriously scrutinised, as it as enormous ethical implications.

- Is the modern Western understanding of the self solipsistic; to what degree?
- Is my self tied up with my connection to family and community? Without them, myself doesn't exist in any meaningful way? Do I have responsibilities beyond what I do with my body within my personal bubble?
- How do others define my self? How do I conceive of myself in terms of another person?
- What identities (national, political, etc.) do I hold to be me?
- How is my self related to the concept of humanity? Am I humanity, do I have responsibilities to humanity, or am I an entity disconnected from the rest of the world.

Oliver

"It is just as possible that Jesus was simply hung on a pole or a X cross."

The Christian cross is a fertility symbol stolen from the pagans.
It is a line drawing of a naked woman ,lower half, from the back.
Long vertical,gap between legs.
Short vertical ,gap between buttocks.
Horizontal ,fold under buttocks.

Maybe it was a joke on the gullible like the huge (building size)
penises ,one on each side of a mosque.

It's the culture of life that bothers me.

Why can't we let people die anymore. It's a natural part of life. Billions spent on premmie babies (who would not have lived if it were not for heroic efforts) who have been kept alive and then clog up the hospitals afterwards with their chronic illnesses. Millions of people starving and disease ridden in Africa, and they can't even have a condom if their life depends upon it.

People whose dearest wish is to end their pain and suffering are not allowed to choose death because of other people's beliefs - crazy!
Old people begging to die, left to rot in a chair at a nursing home, ignored by a society who refuse to demand their tax dollars keep these people in comfort and pain free.

Let people die with dignity.

Sells does make a few good points in this article. Humans are funny animals - we do make choices about what is acceptable in relation to 'death'- for all sorts of reasons (even ignoring the Christian perspective).

It is interesting that usually those who are pro-abortion are anti-death penalty and those who are anti-abortion are pro-death penalty (without wishing to generalise). If one were to analyse this, it might have something to do with how we reconcile either the right to life and/or the definition of life.

When is a group of cells considered a life with all the inherent rights we bestow to a born human? Does a person lose the right to live if they have taken the life of another?

As a mother I do have discomfort with abortion (everyone does). It is not an easy decision and thankfully I have never been faced with that dilemma. And seeing your newly born baby and the love that you feel for them even though only a few weeks ago they were a bunch of cells.

Repeating myself a bit from an earlier thread, these issues come down to weighing up rights. A foetus may be seen by some to have the right to live even when only a few days/weeks old but others may also feel compassion for a mother who may have many issues facing her and if abortion were not legally available may opt for a backyard alternative with potential disastrous consequences.