Assisted Dying

Author
Discussion

119

Original Poster:

6,557 posts

37 months

Monday 29th April
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Looks like today is the day for MP's to debate assisted dying after over 200,000 signatures on a petition set up.

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/pet...



Rusty Old-Banger

3,991 posts

214 months

Monday 29th April
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Good. About time.

gruffalo

7,548 posts

227 months

Monday 29th April
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About time!

We treat our animals better than humans.


durbster

10,293 posts

223 months

Monday 29th April
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Hopefully something will come of it and I won't have to worry about putting my family through that one day. It's horrific to watch people suffering needlessly.

The amount of pain, time, money and resources spent holding people in a miserable and valueless existence for years is absurd, frankly.

Dixy

2,936 posts

206 months

Monday 29th April
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I understand the argument against it that some may be coerced or manipulated but think that should not stop those that do want it.

Petrus1983

8,838 posts

163 months

Monday 29th April
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Finally. Sadly it won't come in time to help my friend out. We were discussing Dignatas at length and that certainly isn't an straightforward process by the looks of it.

captain_cynic

12,150 posts

96 months

Monday 29th April
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gruffalo said:
About time!

We treat our animals better than humans.
I doubt anything will come of it with our current govt. They seem hell bent on sending a token number or people to Rwanda that they simply don't have time for anything else. Also I'm sure there's enough people who'll say "old book says no".

Cotty

39,649 posts

285 months

Monday 29th April
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Nice to see but I can't see anything coming from it.

TGCOTF-dewey

5,266 posts

56 months

Monday 29th April
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It really annoys me that we live in a world where we legislate for the miniscule likelihood of what ifs at the cost of happening nows.

And as for the religious aholes who voted against it last time because it's against God's will... Please STFU this time.

Watching a loved one plead for death is not a happy experience and one that lives with you for a very long time I can assure you... But one that is repeated daily in our hospitals and care homes.

Mr Penguin

1,335 posts

40 months

Monday 29th April
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I can't see this going anywhere for now. It will be extremely difficult to get good legislation with a lot of opposition in a free vote and it will be a distraction for any new government who wants to make progress early in a term.

119

Original Poster:

6,557 posts

37 months

Monday 29th April
quotequote all
I am kinda keeping politics out of it although I agree there will be large portion of discussion involving it but as other posters have said, it is utter madness when you have been told ‘there is nothing more we can do so we will just make them comfortable so that you can watch them slowly die.

Crazy.

bigandclever

13,822 posts

239 months

Monday 29th April
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If you want to read today's debate just read the debate from 2 years ago in Hansard, or the one 2 years before that.

rdjohn

6,229 posts

196 months

Monday 29th April
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I am one of the 200,000 and very surprised that it was not significantly more.

I have had a great life, why would I want to prolong a messy death.

Reasonable criteria should be that a decision should be made while healthy and provided that partner, doctor and lawyer agree that the set circumstances have been met, then it should be as straightforward as giving consent to general anaesthetic, which can sometime result in death.

Sporky

6,422 posts

65 months

Monday 29th April
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119 said:
it is utter madness when you have been told ‘there is nothing more we can do so we will just make them comfortable so that you can watch them slowly die.
Especially when "make them comfortable" means starving and dehydrating them to death. But with morphine.

Murph7355

37,804 posts

257 months

Monday 29th April
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119 said:
I am kinda keeping politics out of it although I agree there will be large portion of discussion involving it but as other posters have said, it is utter madness when you have been told ‘there is nothing more we can do so we will just make them comfortable so that you can watch them slowly die.

Crazy.
Unfortunately I don't see any govt touching it. Falls well and truly into the "too hard" camp.


PurpleTurtle

7,053 posts

145 months

Monday 29th April
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As I understand it (from listening to Esther Rantzen on LBC this morning) this is just a debate with no vote on it, so won't bring about any change in the law, but hopefully will lead to a bill which will.

I've always been in favour of it, but never had to personally deal with a terminally ill loved one. My father-in-law died of cancer, but his demise was very quick, he had a lot of pain relief, and ultimately did die with dignity. My Dad is currently in end stage dementia with very little quality of life, but he does not seem to be in pain. Sometimes I think it would be better if we did help his passage, other times I do not. I was convinced that he would not make Christmas 2023, but here we are, end of April 2024.

We never had the conversation when he was of sound mind because we never thought he would end up this way. Knowing him as I did for 50yrs with his matter of fact opinions on matters such as this I'm sure he would have chosen assisted dying if he could, but when I look into his eyes these days I see a strong will to just keep on going, despite the fact that he's bedridden and reliant on carers for absolutely everything.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's something I've always supported, but now I'm in the position that I would have to enact such a decision, I'm not sure if I would want to.

Biggy Stardust

6,987 posts

45 months

Monday 29th April
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My fiancee dies of cancer- the late stages were very unpleasant.

If I could have sneaked in with a syringe or similar to quietly end it all I would have done so with zero guilty feelings. I'm all in favour of euthansia if it's for the right reasons, ie not just to preserve an inheritance.

llewop

3,603 posts

212 months

Monday 29th April
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rdjohn said:
I am one of the 200,000 and very surprised that it was not significantly more.

I have had a great life, why would I want to prolong a messy death.
ditto

I have a vested interest in things changing: I have a degenerative muscle condition, so at some point in my future I may want to be able to make choices to spare me and those around me the torture of a slow, increasingly painful, fade. (assuming nothing else gets me first!)

J4CKO

41,693 posts

201 months

Monday 29th April
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I'm for it, but people do spoil it, few debts, missus wants an Evoque, "sorry gran...."

As usual, the greedy idiots spoil it for others, it should be sacred and not misused but inevitably it would be, so you get the full 12 inch remix of checking out with only a bit of pain relief.

Most of us couldn't live with that on our conscience, but not everyone has a conscience, never ceases to amaze me what people will do for money, if someone somewhere is making child porn, selling landmines or selling women into prostitution, knocking off a 90 year old a bit early wont trouble some.

Randy Winkman

16,311 posts

190 months

Monday 29th April
quotequote all
PurpleTurtle said:
As I understand it (from listening to Esther Rantzen on LBC this morning) this is just a debate with no vote on it, so won't bring about any change in the law, but hopefully will lead to a bill which will.

I've always been in favour of it, but never had to personally deal with a terminally ill loved one. My father-in-law died of cancer, but his demise was very quick, he had a lot of pain relief, and ultimately did die with dignity. My Dad is currently in end stage dementia with very little quality of life, but he does not seem to be in pain. Sometimes I think it would be better if we did help his passage, other times I do not. I was convinced that he would not make Christmas 2023, but here we are, end of April 2024.

We never had the conversation when he was of sound mind because we never thought he would end up this way. Knowing him as I did for 50yrs with his matter of fact opinions on matters such as this I'm sure he would have chosen assisted dying if he could, but when I look into his eyes these days I see a strong will to just keep on going, despite the fact that he's bedridden and reliant on carers for absolutely everything.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's something I've always supported, but now I'm in the position that I would have to enact such a decision, I'm not sure if I would want to.
My sympathies to you with regards your father. My Dad died a couple of years ago after a few years of going downhill with dementia and other physical issues. Looking back there was never really an answer to the question of whether he would rather have been dead or whether he was in a position to make a decision on that. For some people it might be obvious but for him it was complicated and varied from day to day and I'd certainly not have wanted to give an opinion on it. Very difficult. Good luck to you.