Euthanasia need to be considered in UK?

squerble said:
Organ donation is now opt-out in this country, I'm not sure what else we can do?
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I'm talking about the attitude of people towards organ donation. Yes you can legislate for it but it will take years for the majority of society to accept it as normal (not all will accept it).
 
Feel for you buddy, I thought this as well as I was watching my dad deteriorate from brain cancer. Its totally heart breaking watching somebody you love and respect being ripped apart like that. Stay strong for the family dude and spend all the time you can right now as you never get a re-do.
 
Chris Wilson said:
In the old days medical euthanasia for suffering and for dreadful birth defects was commonplace, mainly unchallenged. Today at birth, MUCH less so, too many are likely to have an agenda of ill placed sensitivity.

Today under suffering the usually diamorphine syringe driver is used, probably the time / volume graph is manipulated differently by different "health professionals", but as a way to normalise euthanasia it's certainly in use. I've got my own morphine supply secreted away and enough knowledge to make a viable syringe driver, hopefully if the worst comes to the worst and I'm compus mentis enough to know when to use it I can make my own decision.

Time for a beer, what a depressing thread, sorry the OP has the dilemma of thinking of and discussing this subject, life's a bitch :(
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My grandad had that syringe driver in December. He was 95 and had been diagnosed lung cancer 3 months before and the last few weeks he really went down hill. Sleeping most of the time and then waking up startled regularly. He also tried to get out of bed a few times when he clearly didn't have the strength. Think he died later that day after the syringe driver was applied.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys and girls.

Seems the general consensus is that people agree to it in principle but would need safeguards in place to stop abuse.

Im only 38 now I hope by the time I face something like this I have the option instead of suffering like mum...

Thanks
 
Agreed, You wouldn't put an animal through that pain and suffering, it is open to abuse but maybe an independent should come in and review the situation before a decision is made. Even if you put safe guards in it will still get abused but for the majority of older people in this horrible situation it would give relief.

I have a friends who's mum was bed ridden and the end was pretty terrible, she was messing herself twice a day, she couldn't talk or communicate, in constant pain for weeks on end. The other side of the coin is that we all must go through this, it's natural to have this happen to the majority of people, very little people just die in there sleep. You could argue it's part of life, who knows!
 
Definitely in favour of this - I can't think of anything more cruel than forcing someone to live in pain and suffering purely for your own benefit. My other half and rest of the family are well aware of my wishes to be finished off if I ever become bedbound/vegetablised or in any other way unable to do the deed myself when the time comes.

From both a pragmatic and emotional point of view it makes sense.

Pragmatic as you're not wasting valuable NHS resources to prolong suffering when they could be put to better use, not placing a burden on the family, not putting a loving family member at risk of criminal prosecution for ending the suffering humanely.
Emotional, as - while yes of course losing a loved one is painful - spending the last few weeks/months/years of their life watching them suffer in pain every day before losing them, and having your final memories of them being of that suffering, is far worse.

Of course there should be checks in place to prevent the risk of coercion - particularly in the case where any involved individuals would be beneficiaries of the patient's estate.

I'm struggling to see why any (supposedly) civilised country doesn't have some kind of allowance for it to be honest.

smilertoo said:
The countries that allowed it for "the most extreme cases" are now allowing it for people who are sad, it wasn't a slippery slope...it was a cliff edge.
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I assume that's some attempt to be edgy by dismissing the very real suffering caused by depression, by brushing it off as being "sad"? :( I'm glad it doesn't affect anyone you care about it - it's a horrible disease with a far reaching impact not just on the person suffering from it, but their friends and family too :(
 
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So sorry to hear OP. I remember the last days of my Grandma were similar, and in the end i am convinced the doctor helped her along her way (with our blessing).

It is a tough one and i fully sympathise with people on this regardless of what side of the fence they are on.
Personally I am tentatively in support of it but would have to have a lot of safe guards in place.

A living will would have to have been done with sound mind for those who end up incapable of ending it themselves.... (definitely not just taking the word of friends of family of what they would have wanted) for those who are capable they would have to be the ones to do it themselves - as done in some countries AFAIK.
 
Richard - London said:
www.theguardian.com

A woman’s final Facebook message before euthanasia: ‘I’m ready for my trip now...’

Assisted suicides in the Netherlands include a 29-year-old who had nothing wrong with her physically
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
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Idiot take: "people who are sad"

Reality: "She suffered from psychiatric illnesses, including severe anxiety, depression, eating disorders and psychosis. She self-harmed and had attempted suicide numerous times. She had spent nearly three years as an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital, and had served time in prison for arson."
 
Mr Badger said:
I absolutely agree about the grim state of care homes, but live in care should be so much better. The carers clearly weren't good or being managed properly if they got away with that.
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My parents were around at my Nanan’s about Oct last year. When one of the carers came round. She had her coat on when attending my Nanan. Mum asked her are you going to take your coat off. With an Eastern European accent, “I only be 5 mins”. Geez.

Then some days, the gaps between carers could be as much as 10 hours. Then a gap of an hour another day.

One day in June 2022, my Nanan fell out of bed. Due to her frailty and not much space she was stuck between wall and bed. Her neighbour across the square noticed that she didn’t draw her curtains. Rang my aunt. Who had her granddaughter with her as back up (latter works as a mobile phlebotomist) managed to get Nanan out of the gap.

She was sent to hospital and stayed there for 5 weeks as routine tests she tested positive for covid.

My Nanan shouldn’t be sent home but straight into care as kept having falls. She was skeletal. Surprised that she didn’t break her hip or get a similar injury.

During my Nanan’s hospital stay, my aunt and my dad had phone calls from carers to say that my Nanan wasn’t in. Key was in a key safe box. My aunt contacted the carer offices to say Nanan is in hospital. Communication was poor.
 
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