Something to consider when looking at their arguments is that the nearer-term 'source code' (the older code is in the eugenics movement) for the pro-MAID movement is a combination of two things: Quite radical views of individualism (I'm reminded of the Sovereign Citizens movement for some reason) and an early mix of people with and without medical training affected by the deaths of loved ones to illness or who assisted/caused their death (e.g., Humphry, Seguin, Nitschke, et al.). Sometimes these things are in tension, and the VSED gambit reads to me like an attempt to bridge them.
Thanks for sharing!
Your response to Pope and Brodoff was good.
Something to consider when looking at their arguments is that the nearer-term 'source code' (the older code is in the eugenics movement) for the pro-MAID movement is a combination of two things: Quite radical views of individualism (I'm reminded of the Sovereign Citizens movement for some reason) and an early mix of people with and without medical training affected by the deaths of loved ones to illness or who assisted/caused their death (e.g., Humphry, Seguin, Nitschke, et al.). Sometimes these things are in tension, and the VSED gambit reads to me like an attempt to bridge them.
This paper notes that some people exploring suicide options feel like it's more legitimate if it's supported by a clinician and the responsibility is shared. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01459740.2016.1255610#d1e502
This is also an intersting read on medical sects... https://www.jstor.org/stable/27505750
That sociological theory re: source code is interesting. Thank you for sharing that, and the papers!