Control Yourself

How much control should we have over our bodies?

As of now, we have very little control. Self-mutilation and suicide are illegal. So is taking illegal drugs. You have to be a certain age for tattoos and piercings, sex, and cigarettes and alcohol.

What if someone felt happier if they didnt have their toes? Why couldnt they just chop em off? Granted, they would have to have some serious problems in the head, but its thier body, correct?

What if a woman was pregnant and a drug addict, and she continued taking drugs while she was pregnant? Its her body, right?

What do you think?

Suicide is illegal? I never knew that.

But I think anyone can do anything with their bodies as long as they don't put other people in danger.

So I'd be against the pregnant mother taking drugs because she will be poisoning her baby.

Originally posted by Illmatic67
Suicide is illegal? I never knew that.

But I think anyone can do anything with their bodies as long as they don't put other people in danger.

So I'd be against the pregnant mother taking drugs because she will be poisoning her baby.

Oops my mistake. Assisted suicide is illegal.

Originally posted by JustAnIllusion
Self-mutilation and suicide are illegal.

well...not quite. I don't see those who survived suicide attempts being arrested, so if it's illegal it isn't being enforced. as for self-mutilation (and I'm only thinking about extreme cases, like cutting off an appendage), if someone assisted with the procedure they could probably be prosecuted, but the person who is mutilated would probably be viewed as mentally unbalanced and would probably recieve mental treatment. or maybe nothing. I'm going on the thought that if someone took the one-armed dude to court, it'd hit the papers everywhere as a 'wacky human interest story'.

edit: ah, assisted suicide that makes more sense.

edit 2: and wtf is up with the drinking age? you can vote, die for your country, sue, be sued, sign contracts...et al, but can't have a beer? I've never understood that.

[Edited on 4/11/2004 by MorningtonCrescent]

Yea....... I agree, if you wanna self mutilate yourself or kill yourself thats one thing even though I don't agree with it........ But if your pregnant and doing stuff, thats harming another life..........

As for the age restrictions on stuff like tats, piercing, alcohol and cigs I do agree with an age limit, because quite frankly some 16yr old is not mature enough to be making decisions like that. Those are all things that can have heavy impact on ones life and future, especially things like smoking and getting inked. Many jobs dispite the laws against discrimination will not hire someone who has visible tattoos on thier body, and health insurance companies jack up the prices on smokers, and I doubt many 16yr olds are aware of things like that.

I agree, Im definetly against a pregnant woman harming her child. Im just trying to look at this through all possible situations.

Originally posted by JustAnIllusion
How much control should we have over our bodies?

As of now, we have very little control. Self-mutilation and suicide are illegal. So is taking illegal drugs. You have to be a certain age for tattoos and piercings, sex, and cigarettes and alcohol.




What if someone felt happier if they didnt have their toes? Why couldnt they just chop em off? Granted, they would have to have some serious problems in the head, but its thier body, correct?

What if a woman was pregnant and a drug addict, and she continued taking drugs while she was pregnant? Its her body, right?

What do you think?

Taking drugs puts others in danger, self mutilations is not illigal. You can get heppatittis from tattoos, piercings, so you have to be of some intellegence to get one, and sex , ciggerates, and alcohol can all kill you. And dope head moms pass that trash on to their kids, which have no say so in the matter.


[Edited on 11-4-2004 by infovacume]

One problem with letting people have as much control over themselves is that people are social beings. This is realized, let's say, when I suggest that a father be able to mulitate himself as much as he'd like in front of his 6 year old son. We all know this isn't instinctively "right." Is it any better if the father did it in private and the child found out? No.

Now this is extreme, but you can't draw a boundary between what's okay and what's not because you can never erase the social connection that is always there (unless we're talkign about a hermit). If an act has a social connection, it's always going to affect someone else.

All this being said, however, what makes self-mulitation and the like "okay" is changing the social connection between people. So, for instance, if it became socially acceptable, or it was understand that it was okay to do, then it's fine to do. But as long as it goes against the norm and people that care about you don't understand, is it really okay? If you cut yourself, you're cutting another.

Originally posted by ktprktpr
All this being said, however, what makes self-mulitation and the like "okay" is changing the social connection between people. So, for instance, if it became socially acceptable, or it was understand that it was okay to do, then it's fine to do. But as long as it goes against the norm and people that care about you don't understand, is it really okay? If you cut yourself, you're cutting another.

coughcough
I understand the point you're getting at (if everyone jumps off a bridge, it's okay, right?), but since the subject of cutting has been brought up I figured I'd bump the thread for those don't realize how common self-mutilation is.

I believe a mother shouldn't take drugs when pregnant. It endangers the baby.

There should be an age limit because if you think about kids are stupid and have no experience.

Many people regret getting tattos when they were younger. Drugs should become legal because it only kills the person taking it. Legalizing drugs also allows it to be controlled. It would also kill of a lot of people in America who waste resources such as water.

Self Mutilation is well, bizarre. Someone chopping off their toes to feel better wouldn't be likely unless they really enjoy wheel chairs or they're screwed in the head. As for drugs during pregnancy, i think its totally unfair for someone who knows the effects of drugs on an unborn child to willingly screw up that childs entire life permanently because they felt like 'getting high' at the time. Personally i think its ignorant and callus.

I think we can all agree, at least in a moral sense, that pregnant women should not be allowed to harm an unborn child in any way (which is kind of wierd coming from me, because I am pro choice - so I will asume the mother is having the child).

As for self mutilation - I am not sure how you can say that it is different from say cosmetic surgery. What is the difference? Because someone thinks that because a doctor performs it, or because it is to make you look "better"? Now I see how a child shouldnn't see a parent doing this because of how impressionable they are, but if someone in their right mind chooses to have a body part removed - I believe it is their choice.

What I'd like is to know how this topic relates to politics and scandals. I may be missing it so if you could enlighten me, I won't move it. Otherwise, I think we could find a more suitable forum.

Originally posted by Qraz A.K.A. MIlfort
Many people regret getting tattos when they were younger. Drugs should become legal because it only kills the person taking it. Legalizing drugs also allows it to be controlled.

Oh, yeah, we do really well controlling legalized drugs in this country. We have no health or addiction problems with nicotine or alcohol in this country.
Whether legal or illegal, abusing drugs is a problem. Hell, you can even abuse aspirin!!!

Alos, drugs can kill more than just the user: family abuse, murder committed during the commission of a robbery (money to buy drugs) come to mind.

Originally posted by Qraz A.K.A. MIlfort
It would also kill of a lot of people in America who waste resources such as water.

I don't understand this at all...can you enlighten me, please???

in texas suicide is illegal. i imagine it is illegal in other states too. it is against the law to kill a person be it someone else or yourself. but this one of those laws that is not really enforced, unless it is assisted suicide where the assistant is charged. self inflicted homocide is still a homocide.


all drugs should be decriminalized. drinking alcohol and gasoline are not healthy choices, but yet they are legal. and i am sure the marijuana vs. alcohol think has been run into the ground twenty years ago.

if you decriminalized drugs the murder rate would go down, half the people in prison would have chance to become productive members of society, and the money used for the war on drugs could be utilized for something beneficial to our society.

[Edited on 4/12/2004 by panchovilla]

Originally posted by Sapphire
Self Mutilation is well, bizarre. Someone chopping off their toes to feel better wouldn't be likely unless they really enjoy wheel chairs or they're screwed in the head.

Body Integrity Identity Disorder, or BIID, is a psychological condition in which the individual requests an elective amputation. Individuals with this condition experience the persistent desire to have their body physically match the idealized image they have of themselves. This desire forces individuals to deal with the paradox of losing one or more major limbs (i.e. arm[s] or leg[s]) to become whole. In their minds, �Less is more�.
www.biid.org...

Originally posted by Sapphire
As for drugs during pregnancy, i think its totally unfair for someone who knows the effects of drugs on an unborn child to willingly screw up that child's entire life permanently because they felt like 'getting high' at the time. Personally i think its ignorant and callus.

I am very torn on this particular point. I totally believe that anyone who would willingly risk the health and life of their unborn child, should be sterilized. If you won't care for your child when they are developing within your own body, how much less important is that child going to be to you after it's been born? A person who would care more about their own "high", then the life and mind of their child, certainly doesn't deserve the privilege of having any.

On the other hand, if the government continues to become the enforcers of subjective morality, none of us are going to have any personal privacy or individual rights left. Frankly, I am not sure which action would cause the greatest harm, but I am more inclined to favor personal responsibility and freedom.

originally by DontTreadOnMe
Alos, drugs can kill more than just the user: family abuse, murder committed during the commission of a robbery (money to buy drugs) come to mind.

Personal drug use should not be a criminal offence in and of itself. If a person chooses to commit a crime, regardless of what the reason for it is, then they should be prosecuted for that crime. Someone should not get a different sentence because they were or were not under the influence of a intoxicant (when used voluntarily). If a person gets drunk and beats his/her spouse/kids, the crime is not being drunk, it's physical abuse of another person. The penalties and sentences should be based only on the actual crime committed against someone else.

What I don't get is that doctors always help people die, kovorkian did it, he went to jail. Althought he was leaving dead bodies on the court house steps.

Doctors always and will always give people an overdose of morphine to "go to sleep".
Thats assisted suicide right?

voting 18, can't drink until your 21? didn't it used to be 18 in the us? what happened?


re: the prego mom who does drugs... Yes it's her body, her right, but she's a piece of #e for doing so.. She is harming a fetus that has no choice in the matter and the fetus is going to be the one getting the most damage, brain chemistry, and body chemistry is going to be all out of whack.
look at the alchy babies, the crack babies, heroin babies, and cigarette babies...
Those kids are going to end up in foster homes because their mom abused them right from the get go.

She can do what she wants with her body and if she wants to rather pollute her body then care for a new life, fine, but she doesn't deserve both.


self mutilation is usually a cry for attention, if its not that then munchousen diseasee or some freaky sexual philia.ew.