--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I cannot give consent to my own death…" description: "\"If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?\" — Sue Rodriguez" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png" --- # If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is… ![“If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” quote by Sue Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png) > “If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” [Sue Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-rodriguez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A question of bodily autonomy and the right to control one's own death. **In simple terms:** Raises issues of consent over personal life and death. Key Takeaway Advocate for self‑determination. Themes autonomy consent death ethics Mood thoughtful serious Type Assisted suicide:1 Body:1 Consent:1 Death:1 Death with dignity:1 Giving:0 Ifs:0 Inspirational:0 Life:0 My own:0 Suicide:0 Death Body:0 Owns Life:0 Consent Death:0 Body Owns:0 When to use this quote - medical ethics debate - legislative discussion Key Concepts bodily rights personal agency Questions to Reflect On - Who decides the value of life? - What safeguards protect consent? A Different Perspective Legal frameworks may limit autonomy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assisted suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assisted-suicide/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Owns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-owns-1622685/) [Consent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent/) [Consent Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consent-death-1622684/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-body-621058/) [Death with dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-with-dignity/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Owns Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/owns-life-1558790/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [“Under conditions of a truly human existence, the difference between succumbing to disease at the age of ten, thirty, fifty, or seventy, and dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/under-conditions-of-a-truly-human-existence-the-difference-between/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“A healthy body owns a healthy mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-healthy-body-owns-a-healthy-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I live my life the way I wish , coz its mine and everything is up to me coz here on earth no body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacent-nakato/i-live-my-life-the-way-i-wish-coz-its-mine-and-everything-is-up-to-me/) [Jacent Nakato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacent-nakato/) > [Women lose their lives not knowing they can do something different...I claimed myself and remade my life. Only when I knew I belonged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/women-lose-their-lives-not-knowing-they-can-do-something-different-i/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/nobody-owns-life-but-anyone-who-can-pick-up-a-frying-pan-owns-death/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [No one owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/no-one-owns-life-but-anyone-who-can-pick-up-a-frying-pan-owns-death/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [My philosophy is based on the principle of self-ownership. You own your life. To deny this is to imply that another person has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-schoolland/my-philosophy-is-based-on-the-principle-of-self-ownership-you-own/) [Ken Schoolland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-schoolland/) > [“You've given her a new lease on life.' 'She didn't need one. She owns life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-airgood/you-ve-given-her-a-new-lease-on-life-she-didn-t-need-one-she-owns-life/) [Ellen Airgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-airgood/) > [“Patrick thinks he likes her best because she owns her life in a way none of Kimberly’s other kids do. Not even Will. Especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leta-blake/patrick-thinks-he-likes-her-best-because-she-owns-her-life-in-a-way-2/) [Leta Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leta-blake/) > [I've thought for years, sometimes against my will, about what kind of son I'm supposed to be, what's expected. Being Korean, that's a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cho/i-ve-thought-for-years-sometimes-against-my-will-about-what-kind-of/) [John Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cho/) > [“Patrick thinks he likes her best because she owns her life in a way none of Kimberly’s other kids do. Not”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leta-blake/patrick-thinks-he-likes-her-best-because-she-owns-her-life-in-a-way/) [Leta Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leta-blake/) > [“After death, the body cools, then stiffens, then grows limber again as putrefaction begins to dissolve the tissues until the flesh becomes foul, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-paul/after-death-the-body-cools-then-stiffens-then-grows-limber-again-as/) [Fiona Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-paul/) > [The body is a fortuitous concourse of atoms. There is no death for the body, only an exchange of atoms. Their changing places and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/u-g-krishnamurti/the-body-is-a-fortuitous-concourse-of-atoms-there-is-no-death-for-the/) [U.G. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/u-g-krishnamurti/) > [It is not death to have the body called back to the earth, and dissolved into its kindred elements, and mouldered to dust, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/it-is-not-death-to-have-the-body-called-back-to-the-earth-and/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [You'll understand what life is if you think about the act of dying. When I die, how will I be different from the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/you-ll-understand-what-life-is-if-you-think-about-the-act-of-dying/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by Sue Rodriguez > [Whose life is it, anyway?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-rodriguez/whose-life-is-it-anyway/) [Sue Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-rodriguez/) [Explore all 2 Sue Rodriguez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-rodriguez/) ## More Assisted suicide quotes > [Having the choice at the end of my life has become incredibly important. It has given me a sense of peace during a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-maynard/having-the-choice-at-the-end-of-my-life-has-become-incredibly/) [Brittany Maynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-maynard/) > [First of all, in principle, I'm against physician-assisted suicide, and secondly, I believe it is the prerogative of the federal government to control drug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/first-of-all-in-principle-i-m-against-physician-assisted-suicide-and/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Of course, we know that not everyone agrees with assisted suicide, but people might agree that one has the right to it, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/of-course-we-know-that-not-everyone-agrees-with-assisted-suicide-but/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [The whole notion of pain, and how every individual experiences pain, is up for debate. We don't know how another person experiences pain -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-whole-notion-of-pain-and-how-every-individual-experiences-pain-is/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [There is a difference between a person who is dying and a person who is suicidal. I do not want to die. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-maynard/there-is-a-difference-between-a-person-who-is-dying-and-a-person-who/) [Brittany Maynard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-maynard/) > [Euthanasia and assisted suicide are never acceptable acts of mercy. They always gravely exploit the suffering and desperate, extinguishing life in the name of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/euthanasia-and-assisted-suicide-are-never-acceptable-acts-of-mercy/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I'm for the death penalty, I'm pro-abortion, I'm pro-assisted suicide, I'm pro-regular suicide. Anything that'll get the traffic moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/i-m-for-the-death-penalty-i-m-pro-abortion-i-m-pro-assisted-suicide-i/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Patients who are being kept alive by technology and want to end their lives already have a recognized constitutional right to stop any and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-emanuel/patients-who-are-being-kept-alive-by-technology-and-want-to-end-their/) [Ezekiel Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-emanuel/) > [“Does the kind of thinking that permits assisted suicide provide a moral basis for protecting the preciousness of human life or does it fail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-dyck/does-the-kind-of-thinking-that-permits-assisted-suicide-provide-a/) [Arthur J. Dyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-dyck/) > [“The military is not so much a job, it is more of a legally assisted suicide program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-military-is-not-so-much-a-job-it-is-more-of-a-legally-assisted/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [We don't let animals suffer, so why humans?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-don-t-let-animals-suffer-so-why-humans/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [By establishing a social policy that keeps physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia illegal but recognizes exceptions, we would adopt the correct moral view: the onus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-emanuel/by-establishing-a-social-policy-that-keeps-physician-assisted-suicide/) [Ezekiel Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-emanuel/) > [“At stake then in the debate over assisted suicide is nothing less than a shift away from a moral structure that is at once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-dyck/at-stake-then-in-the-debate-over-assisted-suicide-is-nothing-less/) [Arthur J. Dyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-dyck/) > [“The central argument of this book is that there is a solid moral and practical basis for the laws against assisted suicide that now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-dyck/the-central-argument-of-this-book-is-that-there-is-a-solid-moral-and/) [Arthur J. Dyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-dyck/) > [What's important is that people give the kinds of reasons that can be understood and appraised apart from their particular comprehensive doctrines: for example,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/what-s-important-is-that-people-give-the-kinds-of-reasons-that-can-be/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) [Browse all 29 Assisted suicide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assisted-suicide/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sue Rodriguez" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-rodriguez/if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death-whose-body-is-this-who-owns/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assisted suicide" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-rodriguez/if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death-whose-body-is-this-who-owns/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e90/sue-rodriguez-110107_assisted-suicide_if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death_942748.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I cannot give consent to my own death, whose body is this? Who owns my life?” — Sue Rodriguez", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sue Rodriguez", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-rodriguez/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I cannot give consent to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-rodriguez/if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death-whose-body-is-this-who-owns/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-rodriguez/if-i-cannot-give-consent-to-my-own-death-whose-body-is-this-who-owns/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```