-
Posts
-
In light of the recent campaigning of the laws surrounding assisted suicide being reviewed I am interested to read the views of others on the subject.
I lost my best friend aged 42 to MS a while back & to be honest it was horrible to watch her fade away.
I am a great believer in dignity in death & that to enable that to happen is the greatest kindness anyone can do for a fellow human.
Animals wouldn’t be allowed to suffer like it. So why should humans have too ?
Yes I know it could be open to abuse but surely it is the individuals right to choose when faced with a terminal illness when it’s time to bow out.
Anyway I hope I’m never faced with the decision.
What are your veiws?Provided the appropriate controls are put into place, I am a supporter.
Most people who have sat with someone they care about when they’re dying – where that person has no chance of recovery and wants to be released from their pain whilst the doctors do everything they can to keep them alive for fear of being sued, where that person cannot end theiir suffering without help – would feel the same I think.
Many years ago I sat with someone I loved, his body was racked with pain despite all the pain relief the doctors gave him, and his condition was terminal. He asked me to just pop the pills out of the pack (something he couldn’t do) and put them out in front of him so that he could take them (distalgesics, he had enough to kill an elephant). We both sat there in tears, we both knew that I couldn’t do that. I just remember thinking “if you were a dog I’d be taken to court for causing unnecessary suffering, but because you’re a human I have to sit here and watch you suffer to the end”. The injustice of it was as distressing as the situation itself. Unfortunately I’m been in similar situations since.
I know that not everyone will agree, that some will say that life is precious (and of course it is) and that only God should take it away, I respect their views and hope that they will respect mine. But I do believe that people should be given the choice, and that those that care about them should be able to assist and be with them to the end without either party having to worry about repercussions.
Yes, it should be an option.
Because we are not talking about emotional suicide, or irrational self-murder. This can be controlled medically and with all due respect for the feelings of loved ones.
It all depends on the individual case, but faced with such a hard choice it should be there if required.
.assisted suicide, yes I can see the reasoning behind it but after watching a programme about it im not sure i could put my loved ones through it? nor would i want my loved ones watching me suffer either, so , if i was unlucky enough to be in that position and wanted out, i would find a way of doing it quietly, and without ptting my loved ones through helping me to kill myself.
Such a hard one this isn’t it.
I agree though, that with all the controls put into place, that while pple are of sound mind to make a ‘living will’ and that being their choice, then it should be allowed. As others here have said, pple would be prosecuted for allowing animals to suffer in the way humans have to.
I’m of the same opinion as the majority who have posted a reply …
Having lost both parents and my best friend to terminal illnesses I feel there comes a time when quality of life should out weigh quantity.
If its someones wish, knowing there is no chance of recovery, I feel its owed to them to allow them a final choice…
And Sarah …. you are absolutely right – we are allowed to show more humanity towards animals than we are to people!
And what about the elderly parent left in the care of children who couldn’t give a toss, anyone of whom could give the old dear an overdose of medication and claim it was an assisted suicide? It’s far from a black and white argument and too many grey areas mean too many possibilities for abuse of the system.
Few of us haven’t had to stand by and watch those we love die, often agonising deaths, but like the pain of birth it’s a fact of life. Suicide is a personal choice but assisted suicide asks too much of other people and it’s an unfair ask, a burden too many.I have watched my Dad and Gran die of lung cancer this year and witnessed them both ask for help to end it, although nothing could be done. I think when death is a certainty 2 independant drs should be allowed to assess and call it on the person if it is the idividuals wish. I know for both my Dad and Gran it would have saved several days of suffering for them and just waiting for them to die for us. Death is never easy for anyone left but dignity in death should be a final granted wish.
RIP Dad 10th Feb 2009 and Gran 2 weeks today ♥
@kezef wrote:
And what about the elderly parent left in the care of children who couldn’t give a toss, anyone of whom could give the old dear an overdose of medication and claim it was an assisted suicide? It’s far from a black and white argument and too many grey areas mean too many possibilities for abuse of the system.
That was why I said if the appropriate controls were put into place. I agree that it would need to be strictly monitored, although no system is 100% free of abuse.
@kezef wrote:
Few of us haven’t had to stand by and watch those we love die, often agonising deaths, but like the pain of birth it’s a fact of life. Suicide is a personal choice but assisted suicide asks too much of other people and it’s an unfair ask, a burden too many.
If those that I have watched suffer that couldn’t do it themselves asked me, as indeed I was asked in my first example, and if I knew it was legal to assist, I would gladly help them. The burden of sitting watching someone suffer when they really want a release from it all but are being kept alive by the medical profession is far greater than the burden of having helped someone end their life in such circumstances.
I hope that if, god forbid, I should meet my end in such away that I will have friends around me who will help with love and be free of the fear of prosecution…but that is my personal wish and I would never seek to impose it on another.
@kezef wrote:
And what about the elderly parent left in the care of children who couldn’t give a toss, anyone of whom could give the old dear an overdose of medication and claim it was an assisted suicide? It’s far from a black and white argument and too many grey areas mean too many possibilities for abuse of the system.
Few of us haven’t had to stand by and watch those we love die, often agonising deaths, but like the pain of birth it’s a fact of life. Suicide is a personal choice but assisted suicide asks too much of other people and it’s an unfair ask, a burden too many.Good point but, I was assuming that the decision would of been made & discussed prior to the act. A living will type thing.
The lady who fought this week for her right to choose had obviously discussed it with her nearest & dearest hence going to court to defend her right.
Like everything in life it’s subject to abuse as has been said before. Thought provoking subject though.
Get involved in this discussion! Log in or register now to have your say!