In general, he says, the movement fights for our right to control our own lives; when we need assistance to effect our choices, assistance should be available to us as a matter of right. If the choice is to end our lives, he says, we should have assistance then as well. But [...] it is differential treatment—disability discrimination—to try to prevent most suicides while facilitating the suicides of ill and disabled people. [...] The case for assisted suicide rests on stereotypes that our lives are inherently so bad that it is entirely rational if we want to die.
This is an example of a frequent pattern where people defend their decisions by citing abstract priciples, and trying to make a debate about those abstract principles, while the real issue is actually their selective application.
(Like, instead of admitting that I simply choose between some actions A and B depending on how I feel at the moment, I will rather invent two sophisticated ethical explanations, one saying it is right to always do A, the other saying it is right to always do B, and then whenever I have to make a choice, depending on how I feel at the moment I will choose one of these abstract principles, and use it to defend my choice as a special case of always doing the right thing.)
EDIT:
Another—completely unrelated—interesting thing is the undertone of the article, where on some level we are observing an interaction between the author and Singer, but on a different level it’s like an interaction between {Carol Gill, sister Beth} and Singer, where the author is just a mediator and observer.
This part caught my attention [emphasis mine]:
This is an example of a frequent pattern where people defend their decisions by citing abstract priciples, and trying to make a debate about those abstract principles, while the real issue is actually their selective application.
(Like, instead of admitting that I simply choose between some actions A and B depending on how I feel at the moment, I will rather invent two sophisticated ethical explanations, one saying it is right to always do A, the other saying it is right to always do B, and then whenever I have to make a choice, depending on how I feel at the moment I will choose one of these abstract principles, and use it to defend my choice as a special case of always doing the right thing.)
EDIT:
Another—completely unrelated—interesting thing is the undertone of the article, where on some level we are observing an interaction between the author and Singer, but on a different level it’s like an interaction between {Carol Gill, sister Beth} and Singer, where the author is just a mediator and observer.
Isn’t she consistently arguing that we should prevent suicides, so I don’t know how it quite falls into the A and B pattern?
I meant the peope who “try to prevent most suicides while facilitating the suicides of ill and disabled people” are using two patterns.