Atheists: Why don't you value others' lives as much as non-Atheists?

If you think you know what I value better than I do myself, then maybe you should stop right there. Any argument which relies on you being able to read my mind can be nothing but pure fail.

Notice that the patients are terminally ill ergo dying already. It stands to reason that if someone is going to die, a doctor should do everything in their power to reduce the suffering of the patient in question. This would include heavy sedation. Where possible, this would be discussed with the patient prior to that stage. This is far humane that the religious doctor choosing not to discuss end of life treatments.

If you read the document carefully, you will see that it has nothing to do with not valuing life, it is all about treating people with respect and dignity and following their wishes. A religious doctor not offering such treatment is inhumane.

The morality against euthanasia comes from the religious belief that suicide is a sin and that hastening the end of another's life can be deemed as either assisted suicide or murder.

I do not have that same limitation. If someone is suffering, there is no chance of a cure, there is no reason for them to remain alive, in pain, just because we can keep them alive.

If atheists valued life less than believers then the prisons and jails in the US would not be primarily populated by Christians. Do not forget that the majority of murders (at least in the US) and violent crimes are perpetrated by Christians (prisoners professing to be Catholic or Protestant).

I dont think religous beliefs should have any influence on the way doctors treat their patients, maybe you are looking at this the wrong way. If I was 100 years old and on my death bed I wouldn't want some christian doctor keeping me alive because he thinks its the right thing to do. I would want to keep my dignity and hopefully my will or my family would be able to make those decisions for me.

You would think it'd be the opposite claim...Atheists value life MORE than non-atheists. If we don't believe there's an afterlife somewhere, that means we value life every day and wouldn't want to do anything to shorten it. Non-atheists on the other hand think they're life begins when they die, and therefore shouldn't mind if they pass on.

However, I could see why we might want to end the life of a terminally ill patient. To me, if your quality of life if horrendous and you're a drain on everyone...it should be your choice to succumb to death. I, for one, do not want to be around if I have no life (or a horribly painful one)....that's not living to me. But there's no way I don't value life. I'd say I value it more than most religious people.

I cannot answer for atheist doctors or any other atheists. Is it possible because there are more atheist doctors than religious ones? After all, studying the human body and how it works is very likely to make a person see the sheer nonsense of gods and creationism.

This so-referred to as `question' is so stupidly condescending that is not fairly worth responding to yet i could no longer help myself. human beings ARE animals and, extra, the line from Genesis a million:28 - to no longer point out the various others alongside the comparable strains - have long gone so a techniques in destroying the planet you reside to tell the tale that that is outrageous every physique may even examine the Bible heavily anymore. are not you responsive to the present state of the international and what we've completed to it? Do you think of it fairly is `God's Will'? Do you particularly have self assurance that God needed us to completely f**ok up the planet He made with the aid of fact we "are certainly specific endowed via regardless of stress...that created us" - HOW are we `specific? with the aid of fact we've the flexibility to thoroughly injury different entities that have only as plenty a miraculous to stay in the international as we do? do no longer even think of of stating Psalm 8 or something equivalent. Your reasoning is incorrect and you ought to examine the Bible extra heavily. Delete this reaction in case you want to - that is as much as i could anticipate from Christian mentality. Censor the competition. i'm no longer an atheist, via the way, yet i'm via no ability a Christian.

What Chemical Additive said. They are more concerned with easing suffering than prolonging life. Why prolong a life of pain that's going to end in death anyway? If someone is in serious pain and going to die soon best to put them out if it, IMO. Certainly they should not act outside of patients wishes but sometimes that's not possible, if the patient did not share them.

How do you place value on life?

Is keeping someone alive at all costs really valuing life?

Is not talking to the patient families and asking their wishes valuing life? Or valuing your own point of view?

This is a deeper question than you're allowing it to be, much more complex.

You shouldn't say broadly we don't value life, just because one study points out we accept 'death'.

You're reading into this study things it did not find.

--atheist

Hm. If the report is accurate, then I find it appalling. My morals are not based on the actions of a bunch of limey doctors. I believe I do value the lives of others as much as non-atheists.

However, I suspect that there are hidden variables in this study that are not being taken into account.

It looks to me like the atheist doctors value human life more by not wanting the patients to suffer. It's not like they're just unplugging for the hell of it. They're open to a discussion with the family about a dignified death.