Thoughts on "The Jennifer Act"?

[Franzl]

What precisely does it do?

[Franzl]

Oppose the law because it is a clear violation of privacy rights.

Certainly Jennifer is now very glad her rights to privacy have been respected.

Unless you can prove otherwise, I see no reason to assume that Jennifer did anything other than make personal choices that she felt were proper decisions in her desire to live a fulfilling and enjoyable life. While I understand the hurt her family may feel, the notion that we could dictate happiness is ridiculous.

...and these personal choices turned out to kill her. We all believe in personal authonomy and free choice, but when someone is endangering his own life, it's the government's duty to avoid that.

Strongly disagree. Everyone should have the freedom to make their own decisions....whether they have a positive, negative or even potentially fatal result. Not having the freedom to make "dumb" decisions (who defines dumb, BTW?) means you don't have real freedom.

Obviously the government can and should intervene whenever dangerous behavior also threatens the safety of another person.

[Franzl]

I believe in freedom, but not in absolute and unchecked freedom. I think individuals should generally be left to take most of their decisions alone, but not all of them. When there is a real, objective and serious danger, regulation is necessary. This is true for drugs as for everything else.

Well first of all....why is it in the government's (and further: the peoples') interest to tell someone they're not allowed to do something that only has the potential to harm themselves? As long as nobody else is in any danger, what's the problem?

Second of all, where do you draw the line as to what constitutes a "real, objective and serious danger"? Taking hard drugs might qualify. But driving on a busy highway could be considered quite dangerous too under certain circumstances, couldn't it? What about mountain climbing? A lot of people have unintentionally killed themselves while climbing a mountain. See where I'm going?

I don't trust the state to make these decisions. I believe individual freedom (at least as far as personal lifestyle decisions are concerned) is unlimited as long as it doesn't harm anyone else.

[Franzl]

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I take offense at being called a libertarian!

I understand your perspective, but I still have to disagree quite strongly. There are just so many dangerous things out there. Alcohol (if abused), fast food (if abused), and the list goes on and on. Bringing emotional arguments such as "go to a funeral and (...)" seems unfair to me. You can just as easily go to the funeral of someone that died of diabetes because he ate hamburgers three times a day every day.

Education campaigns are more effective. Make sure that people know and understand the consequences of their choices. But individual choices need to be made. I don't think anyone is more competent to make them than the person involved.

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Negative consequences for who? It's quite possible that not everyone values their own life over other things. Some people simply prefer to take hard drugs and climb dangerous mountains. That's what they want to do. If they feel risking their life is a fair risk to them....who are you or anyone else to tell them what's more important for them? It's their life. Not yours.

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What safety precautions does the state require when climbing mountains? I don't know of any.

The safety belt mandate would be stupid if it were required only to protect the person driving, but in this case I think it's a fair regulation because not wearing your safety belt does have the theoretical potential to harm others. Whether in your vehicle or in other vehicles because of the possible injuries resulting in not wearing a safety belt. That's where the line needs to be. Whenever something has the potential to harm someone that did not make a choice to behave in a dangerous way.

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Oh and believe me, I feel the exact same way about you

I still take offense at being called a libertarian