They Shoot Horses, don't they?

[Odds]

A cross-party group of MPs who are practising medics and former NHS staff have written to MPs urging them to back the assisted dying bill, after the health secretary expressed doubt that the health service was fit to enact such a big change. @ the Guardian


Not sure i could pull the plug on a loved one if that terrible decision ever had to be made - could you?

 

[Andy165]

I could pull the plug on myself if life became too unbearable due to an uncurable disease or condition which left me in constant pain and slowly deteriorating with no way forward.

 

[blup]

There will have to be a new section in tne lasting power of attorney forms confirming that you are not a murderous pyscopath or after a relatives money. No need for new laws , people can go to switzerland.

 

[Murdochcat]

The misses and i are on the same page as each other. The ability for the individual to decide on this odd long overdue in law.

 

[Odds]

There will have to be a new section in tne lasting power of attorney forms confirming that you are not a murderous pyscopath or after a relatives money. No need for new laws , people can go to switzerland.

Could everyone afford to do that?
It's an expensive business.

 

[blup]

Could everyone afford to do that?
It's an expensive business.

There are alternatives, it is inconceivable that the cps would prosecute in genuine cases. The debate has become skewed towards the inconvenience of having to travel to Switzerland rather than the principle of whether it is right to bring into to English law.

 

[Odds]

Maybe a clinic can be modelled on Dignitas in the UK, with a stringent selection process to determine each case. I don't imagine everybody will take the option to end life while any hope remains, so it comes down to a clearly terminal diagnosis where pain is a mitigating factor in deciding the merits of an individual petition.
The spectre of Harold Shipman still haunts this issue, and folk will be rightly a-feared of doctors having too much life-and-death power. I think they already do. Mistakes are made with frightening frequency in hospitals on a daily basis.

 

[ajohn]

Maybe someone's experience might help. The wife of a neighbour. Stomach cancer. He effectively starved to death and that took longer than you might think. His wife and son had to watch this. That is another aspect. Then comes his experience with no hope what so ever of a recovery and pain of course. His wife's opinion - no one would allow a dog to die like that.

Another factor. Affluent family and a hospice. Death comes and the lady gets resus 3 times before being pronounced dead. To say the family found the experience disturbing is an understatement. What about the lady that had the experience? My father died in hospital. They knew within hours when he would die. Who was asked about the resus question - me. What would you say? Actually treatment was very likely to relate to the reasons for death but what would happen if he hadn't been treated?

An aunt found she had bowel cancer. That can take a while. As a result of the above she was horrified by the thought that she might experience resus.

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I don't mean to be morbid but I'll say it as it is from my pov.

I live alone. I don't have a partner or kids. That is now unlikely to change. Yes I have friends but that's a different thing.

I hope I live to a ripe old age if I'm in decent enough health. However even then, I could imagine myself getting to whatever old age and thinking one day 'well, that's that then' in terms of having lived my life and nothing going to change for the remaining months or few years.

As and when that time comes, I want to end my life on my terms, not the terms that suit others especially those who are influenced by a religious pov. And I certainly don't want to linger on if my health is slowly deteriorating leading to an increased reliance on others.

If there's a legal way for me to terminate myself fine. If not ...

 

[Odds]

If there's a legal way for me to terminate myself fine. If not ...

The law cannot prevent anyone comitting suicide - the question here regards a legal way to end a life of terminal suffering.
"They shoot horses, don't they?"

 

[JohnD]

Not sure i could pull the plug on a loved one if that terrible decision ever had to be made - could you?

Would you prefer them to continue unbearable suffering, with no possible cure?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I'd happily pull the plug on a few of the DIYnot regulars, where do I sign up?

 

[diy_fun_uk]

The law cannot prevent anyone comitting suicide - the question here regards a legal way to end a life of terminal suffering.
"They shoot horses, don't they?"

I know ...

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I reckon now it's an increasing talking point it'll eventually come to pass.

Of course there needs to be ultra tight safeguards in place and yes, even then, it will be open to exploitation. Almost everything that's legal is open to being exploited by a minority. However that doesn't mean we shouldn't make it legal so to speak.

 

[motorbiking]

Having recently experienced a loved one dying from cancer in a hospice. I witnessed the amazing care that the professionals in the Hospice were able to give. At a practical level there isn't much difference between the excellent attention they provide managing pain and anxiety with drugs, right up to the end and someone choosing to die. The challenge is, most Hospices are charities funded by donations and managed by churches. It may be hard asking them to manage those who want to die.

The last place you want to be, if you are dying is an NHS ward or A&E.