Assisted dying

I think the main thing would have to be that two separate Doctors would have to say that the condition was terminal.

 

From a tv programme earlier I got the impression that people seem to think a doctor says its terminal and two days later you get bumped off..
I dont think it would be anything like that and more a case of some kind of over dose of painkiller at the last moment, before things get unbearable.

I'm convinced that is what happened with my Mother over 10yrs ago, but obviously no body is going to say so.

I should add I dont think the person should have to do it their selves, that means they are not at the right stage in my view.

 

There are bad drs. just like there are bad teachers, mechanics etc.
Unfortunately, we often bury our mistakes [ literally ]

Clearly there will have to be stringent safeguards, some of which will mean that not everyone who wants it will be eligible, but it works very well in many other civilised countries.

 

Its very difficult, yes in principle I support it absolutely, no human and their families should be forced to live in pain if they have no hope of recovering and should have control over their own deaths.

Unfortunately its open to abuse, there are some very nasty people about who are not necessarily motivated by the person's best interest, and i'm not convinced we have competent enough leaders to think about it and treat it with the respect and humility it deserves.

 

I fully support the right of an individual to say that enough is enough if they, and they alone, believe they have no quality of life. My best friend died age 43 after battling a debilitating disease for which there was no treatment, never mind cure. For the last 6 months of his life he was on a ventilator, unable to speak or do anything for himself. Everybody knew he had absolutely no quality to his life and it was a relief when he had a massive heart attack and the staff on duty didn't attempt to revive him. He'd had a couple previously when they had done.
The other side of that coin was back in 1971. My brother was in a car crash and suffered severe head injuries. When we arrived at the hospital we were told he had no more than 4 hours to live. When he disproved that claim we were told he would never come out of his coma. When he did we were told he would never walk, talk or do anything for himself. Jump forwards about 3 years and he managed to get back working for the company he'd been with before the crash. He wasn't doing the type of work he had previous done, but was productive. He was 24 at the time of the crash and died of blood cancer age 64. I do wonder if things would have turned out different had assisted dying been around then. My mother would most certainly have been opposed but, so much pressure was put on us in those first few hours to sign donor forms for him, we always wonder if the same effort would have been put in had those forms been signed. They may not have called it 'assisted dying' at the time but the result may have been the same.

 

I think this points out that it really should be the person concerned who makes the decision at a time when they still have all their faculties before things deteriorate too far.

 

I am glad this thread has a heading so we can decide to read comments or not. I hope this GC is not going to go the way of GW with people asking about cars, talking politics and other non gardening threads.

 

Non gardening threads will usually be found in the "off topic discussion" section

 

People chat about all sorts of random topics on here. Sometimes serious, sometimes light-hearted banter, sometimes borderline ridiculous. That's what makes this forum great. All the threads are located in their appropriate sections, so it's the gardening topics are filed under gardening sections, and non gardening stuff goes elsewhere, and we all get to choose whether or not we engage with a thread or topic.

 

I'm on another forum and it's a plant forum, tbh it's the most boring place to be, it has very informed people on it but the forum is very sluggish as there are no other topics to keep it going during times of not a lot happening plant wise.

 

If there were only gardening threads, it would suggest that is all gardeners talk about, which imo would be rather dull.
Most gardeners like to have a natter over the garden fence.

 

I've always been in favour.
I can see both sides though - I understand people will have reservations, but I'm of the view that, just because we can keep people alive, doesn't mean we should.
My daughters know how I feel. I don't want to be around indefinitely, hooked to a machine. It's not helpful for them either.

 

This is how voluntary assisted dying works in Australia.



You have to meet several eligibility criteria and it has to be approved by two different doctors.

This more recent one covers voluntary assisted dying and dementia.