This is a very delicate subject, which is being put forward and looks like it is going to be agreed in the states this week (today).
Just been listening to this on 5 live and have worked with many people who have said they would have liked to have this choice with some of their family members.
I think the if there are set out clear guidelines, then this should be allowed. It is mainly to do with the quality of life of a person and if they have sound mind to make this choice. If someone only had days/weeks to live, would it not be better to have this day sooner and stop their suffering?
I had a work college who’s mum had Alzheimer’s and she did not even know who she was, who her son was, kept asking for her husband, who had been dead for 2 years. He would leave work early and be on calls with his brother. It was tearing him apart. This went on for over a year, before she past away. He said many times, that he wished he could have ended it earlier, set a date and stopped delaying the inevitable and the suffering on her and the whole family.
What are your views on this delicate subject and how would you feel if it was your family member or a friend? Perhaps you have been through it yourself?
This is a very delicate subject, which is being put forward and looks like it is going to be agreed in the states this week (today).
Just been listening to this on 5 live and have worked with many people who have said they would have liked to have this choice with some of their family members.
I think the if there are set out clear guidelines, then this should be allowed. It is mainly to do with the quality of life of a person and if they have sound mind to make this choice. If someone only had days/weeks to live, would it not be better to have this day sooner and stop their suffering?
I had a work college who’s mum had outsimers and she did not even know who she was, who her son was, kept asking for her husband, who had been dead for 2 years. He would leave work early and be on calls with his brother. It was tearing him apart. This went on for over a year, before she past away. He said many times, that he wished he could have ended it earlier, set a date and stopped delaying the inevitable and the suffering on her and the whole family.
What are your views on this delicate subject and how would you feel if it was your family member or a friend? Perhaps you have been through it yourself?
I have no intention of spending my last years unable to move, being spoon fed and having my ass wiped. That is no life. Same goes if I am diagnosed with a terminal illnees and face my last months in excruiating pain.
There are a lot of problems with this, as we all know. I think that with the proper safeguards, it should be an option for people. It pretty much is, with the Switzerland option. The problem is that people have been prone to prosecution in the past for assisting relatives in dying, and that can’t be a good use of our justice system.
It is a no brainer for me. We dont let our pets suffer why should we. I had to watch my Mum die last year. All she wanted was a release but she had to endure weeks of being humiliated with force feeding and catheters. We should all have a choice once we reach a certain stage of illness. It is the humane thing to do,
I don’t think it’s a delicate subject at all, if you’re of sound enough mind to make the decision to end your own life then that should be your choice…I really don’t see the big issue with it.
While I’m generally a supporter of assisted death, it’s not as black and white as you make out. Four US states have assisted dying legislation in place and there have been a few instances where things have got awfully morally dubious: a cancer patient finding that her insurance company won’t pay for her treatment but will contribute to costs to end her life, for example.
I suspect that this debate isn’t only about the rights and wrongs in abstract, but about morality in the context of health provision. If, as in the US, health care for the chronically sick (and these are among the people who are calling to be allowed to die) is so poor that it is cheaper to die, then it feels to me like a line has been crossed.
In any case, those four pro-assisted-dying states are about to become five, with the imminent addition of California.
