Euthanasia need to be considered in UK?

tonys said:
Possibly not "selfish ", just afraid of losing them and want as much time as possible. I have been there when my dad was dying, luckily the family accepted his wish to die at home with no intervention apart from morphine when needed. Even then it wasn't easy.
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Most people have been there, its selfish. No capacity and being kept alive on machines with no hope of any sort of life.
 
200sols said:
Most people have been there, its selfish. No capacity and being kept alive on machines with no hope of any sort of life.
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a lot of people don't rationalise in those situations.
What about the parents of that boy who wanted to keep him alive no matter what even though all the medical staff said it was hopeless? They weren't going to gain anything from that other than having their child near to them for as long as possible.
 
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i really hope to never be in that situation with our child....... it is one of those scenarios which before having a child i could have logically supported the case of trust the professionals and do what they think is best.

but now i have a kid of my own, just thinking about it makes me feel a bit sick!. (it is why imo stuff like organ donation should be default "yes" and dont even approach the next of kin who absolutely wont be objective and once they then sit down and think about it, realising that their child could save the life of so many other children in similar dire situations , it may be too late).

but for adults............. any DNR made by a person sound of mind should absolutely be respected.
 
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It happens all the time but people just don't realise. People rarely die in their sleep naturally. When my dad had cancer he was on morphine and in the final days they increased the dosage and he basically went into a coma and never woke up. I was a bit angry at the time as I was young and in denial so never really got to say goodbye in a two way conversation. That in my eyes is assisted death.
 
tonys said:
What about the parents of that boy who wanted to keep him alive no matter what even though all the medical staff said it was hopeless? They weren't going to gain anything from that other than having their child near to them for as long as possible.
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Apparently some of that lads brain had turned to mush, he wasn't even in there.
The difference is with the patient I've spoke about, my boss went over to ICU and the patient was sitting up in bed eating so in a way I have empathy for the 'child' of the patient even though it's hopeless.
 
Having watched 3 family members die in the last few years in the most painful and undignified of scenarios (all cancer), I am whole heartidly in support of assisted dying.

The amount of pain, discomfort and unhappiness my nan experienced late last year with her liver cancer was just sheer heartbreak to witness and should not be born by anyone, be it the cancer sufferer or the wider family if the patients wishes are clear and actionable.

Losing total control of ones bodily functions while at the same time hardly able to move and enduring pain the likes of which I cannot imagine and yet being of sound mind is some kind hell that we would not allow our pets to go through. It broke her heart to have her family have to change her clothes and bed several times a day because she could not control what came out of where and when, then moving her caused her so much pain it was unbelievable. She asked several times if she could 'go' and it haunts me everyday.

Choice is key word for me, give us the right to choose. Stick all of the protections in front of assisted dying that are needed but give us the choice.
 
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Columbo said:
Having watched 3 family members die in the last few years in the most painful and undignified of scenarios (all cancer), I am whole heartidly in support of assisted dying.

The amount of pain, discomfort and unhappiness my nan experienced late last year with her liver cancer was just sheer heartbreak to witness and should not be born by anyone, be it the cancer sufferer or the wider family if the patients wishes are clear and actionable.

Losing total control of ones bodily functions while at the same time hardly able to move and enduring pain the likes of which I cannot imagine and yet being of sound mind is some kind hell that we would not allow our pets to go through. It broke her heart to have her family have to change her clothes and bed several times a day because she could not control what came out of where and when, then moving her caused her so much pain it was unbelievable. She asked several times if she could 'go' and it haunts me everyday.

Choice is key word for me, give us the right to choose. Stick all of the protections in front of assisted dying that are needed but give us the choice.
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Firstly sorry for your loss.
The wife and I have been through that scenario twice, her mother with vascular dementia and as I said my dad with cancer. Both her dad and my mum died in hospital relatively quickly after long term ill health. I am in total agreement with what you're saying.
 
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I am in favour, and think using the death penalty as a reason against isn't a fair comparison.

I am against the death penalty because innocent people might be killed, and that isn't worth the trade-off.

Using that same logic saying that some people might be coerced into euthanasia doesn't work, as correctly killing bad people doesn't really have a postive aspect (beyond satiating revenge/bloodlust in a few).

Ending the horrible suffering of many people seems a viable trade-off for the few that might be coerced, the balance of the scales and all that (imo).

Basically, the pros outweigh cons wrt euthanasia, whereas they do not wrt the death penalty.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Apparently some of that lads brain had turned to mush, he wasn't even in there.
The difference is with the patient I've spoke about, my boss went over to ICU and the patient was sitting up in bed eating so in a way I have empathy for the 'child' of the patient even though it's hopeless.
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I know what you're saying, the mother-in-law was regressing to her childhood mostly but there was a few times she became lucid enough and had said she didn't want to be here anymore, if I had a gun I'd shoot myself and the like. The wife was torn between wanting her there still and not having her just disappear before her.
 
Even though I haven't seen my Nanan since early Nov, I feel guilty not seeing her as often now. Illness with me, then her in hospital with pneumonia over Christmas and illness with my parents plus something called work got in the way.

I don't want to see her like she is at the moment - 4st, unconscious and typical end of life breathing. Seen a few members of family a day or two before death and can't remove the image of them like this.

At least my grandad had a sudden and quick death. Though his last 4-5 years were affected by strokes - first one affected mobility and second one about 14 months before he died - affected his swallowing. He was in the shower with the day carer and collapsed with a third stroke and was dead within half an hour of this.
 
Must say that I am sceptical of the knee jerk "It will be abused!" reactions that some politicians and other commentators always trot out. Where is the evidence for this?

It should be perfectly possible to come up with a robust process with appropriate requirements and safeguards (terminal diagnosis, psychological assessment, creation of a living will, sign off from multiple doctors or whatever). I suspect there are few people that would actually choose to endure a lingering painful death, or ending up as a vegetable in a care home with no quality of life, compared to a clean, painless release once they feel things have gone far enough.
 
nobody has the right to deny somebody else the choice

Latest petition:
petition.parliament.uk

Petition: Hold a parliamentary vote on assisted dying

This petition calls for the Government to allocate Parliamentary time for assisted dying to be fully debated in the House of Commons and to give MPs a vote on the issue. Terminally ill people who are mentally sound and near the end of their lives should not suffer unbearably against their will.
petition.parliament.uk petition.parliament.uk
 
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