Ethical Smash-Up: Assisted Suicide And Obama's Place Of Birth

Was posting in a thread about army doctor Lt. Col. Terry Lakin who is to be court martialled for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan (his excuse is his belief President Obama was not born in the US and therefore his orders are illegal).

Then I was watching Anderson Cooper's interview with Dr. Jack Kevorkian, "Dr. Death," who has been maligned and punished by authorities for assisting terminally-ill patients with chronic pain in committing suicide.

A smash-up occurred to me because I sympathize with one of these people and not with the other. Yet both face consequences for illegal activity. Also, in both cases, it seems the general public has differing views on whether their crimes are really crimes and/or forgivable.

Is Kevorkian a killer? If so, does it matter that his "victims" want to die and want him to help?

Kevorkian developed a "suicide machine" to "kill" people wanting to die as a way of deferring culpability (which didn't work). If the machine is doing the act (as initiated by the patient), should that absolve Kevorkian?

If one supports the mission of Kevorkian and finds it justifiable for him to break the law, is it hypocritical to criticize Lakin? He, too, is breaking the rules because he believes the rules (because they supposedly emanate from President Obama) are wrong. I don't know whether it is material if Lakin's issue (that Obama was not born in the US) is correct or not. We have to assume he believes it to be the case.

Is it justifiable to break the rules when you believe your cause is more important? How do these two cases differ?

Please, no rants about Obama's birthplace.

reply to post by Hadrian


"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."
Buddha


I truely believe this is the way. People have always undergone scrutiny for their own beliefs. It is part of life on earth. So long as no one dies against thier own will, then so be it. If the military officer is ready to accept his punishment based on his beliefs, then so be it. But it should never be done under false pretenses. You must truley believe in your heart that what you believe is correct. Thats how i see it anyway...Good Post! S&F

[edit on 16-4-2010 by Enigami]

If Lakin truly believes this.......then he must accept the punishment that comes with it. But he joined the military voluntarily....he doesn't want to be deployed; is he making up an excuse to stay here, or does he truly in his heart believe what he is saying?

Only he can answer that question, and I shall not assume. Even if I want to.