Assisted Suicide

[Mushroom]

With the case of Tony Nicklinson who suffered a stroke and got Locked-in syndrome as a result. He wanted to die as a result, but couldn't do it himself. With the UK laws as it is, they state that no one can assist someone to kill them selves.

He was campaigning to make this legal in certain cases like himself, as he couldn't perform the act himself. So do you think assisted suicide should be legal?

I think it should, it will help people like Tony Nicklinson to escape and not be a burden on their family.

Some background info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/19345192

 

[furie]

Absolutely should be, and like with the Swiss system that it's done with a lot of counselling and consultation to ensure that the person is in their own mind and has a very good reason for it. The Terry Pratchett documentary about it is excellent to see how it works and how it affects people.

It's something I couldn't believe with Tony Scott. He had the money and opportunity to finish his life with dignity, I think it's terrible to go the way he did. If the US had that option, he'd have gone peacefully and with his family instead of violently, alone and with others having to deal with the aftermath (I think suicide as it stands now is a hideously selfish thing).

 

[FaceYourNemesis]

Assisted suicide should definitely be made legal. It's inhumane to allow a human with a terminal illness to continue suffering.

That is all.

 

[nadroJ]

We put our pets out of their misery when they're suffering, so I don't see why it should be any different for humans. Especially older people. My nan lived until she was 99 yet had always said she was ready to die from the age of 80. She had crippling arthritis, slight dementia, blindness, deafness, the list goes on. Yet she had to live miserably for another almost 20 years. That's a long time to suffer when you're already ready to go.

 

[marc]

It should be legal I don't think it's right that people have to go through what he did.

Not being funny but he could have died happy not upset and heart broken.

 

[pinklottie91]

I think it should be legal. Why leave someone to suffer with a terminal illness that they can't do anything about it!

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

100% should be legal, no one wants to suffer, we should all have the option to end our lives if we are in pain and suffering.

 

[madhjsp]

It should definitely be legal, and cases like this are the reason why.

 

[kimahri]

Aye, +1

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I've made about three of these topics before, I love them .

I am a huge believer in assisted suicide. I've watched almost every documentary I could find on the subject, wrote most of my essays in high school on the subject, etc. It should 100% be legalized, but I also believe there should be a process for it like their is in Switzerland. Obviously we can't just have people who are sad ending their lives left and right, but in the case of people who are terminally ill or who have degenerative diseases, I definitely believe they should have the right to go out in a dignified way. There's obviously the case of their families and them thinking it is controversial, but in the end, we each have to die and just as we get to decide how we live our lives, we should decide how we go out.

From what I have seen, the method seems fairly humane as well. Obviously there's no surefire way to eliminate pain, which is part of the controversy, but if you watch videos of people drinking the barbiturates or taking the pills, it's a beautiful thing to watch. One of the women had liver cancer I believe, and she went out singing songs with her family. All the people seemed very mentally prepared for their deaths, for sure.

The only thing I think is a bit iffy as far as Dignitas goes is the fact that they can get clearance for the prescription and then end their lives literally the next day. I think there should be a couple of days to think about it or consider the choice. But then again there are some people who get the prescription and never do anything with it, they just like to have the peace of mind of having it in case the pain becomes too unbearable and they are ready to go.

There's obviously a MASSIVE grey area with this which is why I believe this hasn't been legalized yet. It's the question of whether or not physical pain is greater than mental pain, and why should people who are suffering mentally not be able to end their lives, while people who have physical ailments can? Unfortunately, if it were legalized for everybody it would obviously get abused, which is why I think it should be limited to people with severe illness. That's not to say that there aren't people who are mentally suffering who shouldn't be given that option, but it would just get way too misused if it were just open to any old person.

I could go on and on and on. And I also think advocates for assisted suicide, like Dr. Kevorkian, are great people and should not be thrown in jail. Makes me mad .

 

[Xpress]

I think it REALLY depends entirely on the scenario. But for the time being, I'm going to say no.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Why?

What about the scenario which sparked the topic?

Explain yourself sir.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ethan]

I think it REALLY depends entirely on the scenario. But for the time being, I'm going to say no.

So if you had to live in horrific pain for the rest of your entire life, you would want to be forced to live through it? Even if you can't take it anymore?

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Unfortunately, I can see why they don't allow for people to have the help of others in order to end their lives. That opens up a whole new can of worms, because then it could be seen as a homicide, etc. At least in the case of Dignitas, you have to be able to move well enough on your own to sign the legal documents pertaining to the suicide, and you also have to be able to give yourself the lethal drugs. If you are unable to sign legal documents, there would be a lack of proof that it was that person's wish to be killed, and unfortunately, a verbal "I want to die" is not enough as far as the law is concerned. I believe it's a little bit different in places like Oregon, where you only have to be able to get a prescription from your doctor, but I could be wrong. I did see it in the "How to Die in Oregon" documentary though (which I recommend to anyone interested in the subject!).

 

[WelcomeToOblivion]

Whilst I agree it should be legal, the problems begin when governing it. We need to protect the vulnerable whilst also allowing those of sound judgement to make their own decision when it comes to ending their life.

 

[gavin]

Essentially, yeah, just give 'em all whatever barbiturates they want.

It's really not so simple, though. The number of vulnerable people who could, potentially, be coerced into doing something they really don't want to do far outnumber the media circus cases who inevitably get us talking about this every few months.

You'd swear that there are thousands of "locked in" cases, just begging to be dispatched, up and down the country, but that's really not the case at all.

But yeah, I fully support the idea of it, and, in actuality, it shouldn't be too hard to regulate it in a way to protect old, confused people with money in the bank.

 

[Snoo]

^That.

 

[Jake]

As far as I know, there isn't a huge problem of abuse in places like Switzerland and Germany (who have recently introduced it).

I think it should be available to those who have a diagnosed terminal illness and are mentally stable. The only problem is, once you allow a certain group access to it, other groups (for example, manic depressives or those with alzheimer's) will start demanding it too. Not all of them obviously, but there's always going to be a severe or bizarre case which challenges any existing laws, then it's back to square one.

I've always been scared at the thought of getting some sort of terminal illness like cancer, and in the back of my mind I feel as though it's going to happen to me at some point. If I knew I could chose to end my life if I needed to, it would be very reassuring. I can't believe that in this day and age, with all the rights we're forced to have, we're deprived of one of the most important ones. It's ridiculous.

The religious argument is the worst though. They never actually talk about the real benefits or problems of human euthanasia, but spout all this BS about how it's against gods will (the same fabulous 'god' who gave you the brain tumour). If you don't like it, simple, don't use the service. Die slowly and painfully with no dignity if you really want to, but don't you dare try to force other people to be denied the service if they wish to use it.

So yeah, I'm totally pro euthanasia, but of course, it needs a lot of discussion before anything happens.

You might want to check out this organisation:

http://www.dignityindying.org.uk/

You might not have heard of them, but they're the ones who do all the lobbying and stuff. Without them, the government would be turning a blind eye completely. I've donated before <3.

Also, this group have appeared quite a lot over the years when cases make the news. Check out their other policies too, they love fags and everything <3.

http://www.humanism.org.uk/home

 

[furie]

I know this is hardly a huge topic, but so far there have been 3 people who disagree, but nobody has actually stated an argument for why? Quite curious.

Food for thought here anyway.

Madame_Furie's grandmother had a stroke just over a week ago. She's 94 and has suffered from bouts of dementia - though they tend to be much worse when she's suffering from infections (which happens a lot).

Her boyfriend (shall we say, companion instead?) was sent home last week to die - he has incurable bowel cancer. She's had enough and has said for a long time she wants to die, especially when Dennis was told he only had a month or two left. She's had a DNR each time she's gone into hospital for the last 12 months.

So she's been left in a real state and for the last two weeks or so has been suffering badly. She's been left blind and mute by the stoke and semi paralysed. There's no decent option available to her, even a clinical system like Dignitas couldn't do anything because she can't consent.

There's one option though that the staff and Madame_Furie's family have been allowed to take.
The Liverpool Care Pathway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_ ... ng_patient

If a patient is deemed to be irreversibly ill, then this allows the hospital to remove all treatment, which includes intravenous food and liquid, that may keep the patient alive.

Essentially, she is now being starved to death. This could take anywhere up to a week. It's the only option available as an overdose of morphine is classed as manslaughter. It's pretty horrible, and a very undignified and unpleasant way to end your life - hanging on while your body slowly shuts down.

At least it's available though. She could have held on for years more with a completely hideous quality of life just wishing each day for the end...

 

[davidm]

That Liverpool thing is what my mum was on; its not quite as harsh as you say "starve to death" because she couldn't actually eat (but they did not give her IV sustenance) and was barely conscious - she was on diamorphine (which is basically heroin but I've not really pointed that out to the rest of the family) throughout. The drugs kept her out of most pain while it was going on, but kept her fairly out-of-it too.

Its really just about concentrating on the palliative care rather than trying to cure the patient ('cos its just too late for that / not possible) and I thought it was a good thing in the circumstances.

I'm a HUGE believer in assisted suicide (as was my mother), but it would not have applied in her case as "the end" came relatively quickly (couple of weeks). Personal experience of other family members when they were just in hospital for months and months of pain and inevitable undignified death are my reasons for this - can't even begin to imagine how bad it must be if you are "locked in" and not actually dying, but with no hope of recovery.

All grim stuff and this post has made me cry again. Bloody hell.

Chin up for the in-laws then Phil.