The right to die - Tony Nicklinson

[canveyshrimper]

I'm not sure if we have discussed this issue before. I have been following the case of Tony Nicklinson who has locked in syndrome since having a stroke in 2005.

In short he has been given the right to go to court to ask for a doctor to kill him. He is apparently too ill to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland and under our current law any doctor who helps end his life could be charged with murder.

This is so emotive and eventually it will have to go before Parliament as to whether euthanasia should be made legal or not. It's not something that I would be comfortable seeing enshrined in law, having said that if ever I lost my mind to dementia or Alzheimers I think I would not want to live.

Over to you good people of SZ.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Yes it should be law, and yes I should be able to choose the time and place when I die rather than be kept alive via a machine until it's switched off.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Agree completely, people should be allowed to die with dignity. I think there should be some way of making a legal instruction that this is your wish, and that protects you from being unable to do so as a result of dementia or being in a vegetative state.

 

[Earls Hall Blue]

Absolutely it should be allowed by law. There obviously has to be safeguards written into law to protect all parties, cheifly that the request is made when the individual is of sound mind.

We should all have the option to choose an earlier but dignified end as anyone who has witnessed a loved one die from a debilitating terminal illness will agree.

 

[pickledseal]

As hard as it is when looking at individual cases, I can't support a law change. For me, I can't put a value on a human life. That's means I find it impossible to give a definable point where life does not have a value anymore. My fear would be that it creates a 'slippery slope' which we see in Holland... Or controversially, Nazi Germany.

I do have uttermost sympathy for people who want to choose and can understand why people are willing to help, but I don't think a law change is right.

 

[Berrichonne shrimper]

Yes yes and yes to letting people end if if they choose to do so.
3years ago my father was dying from cancer,he wasnt getting better just worse, in the end the docs gave him weeks to live and the last time i saw him he was as good as dead already,i whispered to him that if he wanted to go sooner then let me know,he thanked me and said he was going nowhere.A week later he slipped into a coma and waited to die for two weeks until the exact date that my mother died 34 before.
I would have help him because doctors couldnt/wouldnt,vote yes.

 

[canveyshrimper]

As hard as it is when looking at individual cases, I can't support a law change. For me, I can't put a value on a human life. That's means I find it impossible to give a definable point where life does not have a value anymore. My fear would be that it creates a 'slippery slope' which we see in Holland... Or controversially, Nazi Germany.

I do have uttermost sympathy for people who want to choose and can understand why people are willing to help, but I don't think a law change is right.

I agree with you about a change in law, as I am not sure I would want politicians to decide when or how a life should be ended. However if I were in a position where my mental capabilities were impaired, I would support as Kay put it some sort of living will or written statement where I would be in charge of my own fate. Many hospitals, doctors already make the decision to not resucitate patients who suffer a heart attack or sroke, so maybe there isn't an awful lot of difference.

Yes yes and yes to letting people end if if they choose to do so.
3years ago my father was dying from cancer,he wasnt getting better just worse, in the end the docs gave him weeks to live and the last time i saw him he was as good as dead already,i whispered to him that if he wanted to go sooner then let me know,he thanked me and said he was going nowhere.A week later he slipped into a coma and waited to die for two weeks until the exact date that my mother died 34 before.
I would have help him because doctors couldnt/wouldnt,vote yes.

And I agree with you Tone, having watched my old mum linger on for 6 months, while the treatment she received at Southend from doctos & nurses was wonderful, the geriatric wards are the euivqlent of God's waiting room. I would hate to end up in a position where I had no control of bladder & bowel movements and even less control of my mind.

 

[OldBlueLady]

I would hate to end up in a position where I had no control of bladder & bowel movements and even less control of my mind.

and that's where the loss of dignity comes in. No-one wants to end their days as helpless as they were when they were newborn.

 

[Jedi Shrimper]

Yes it should be law, and yes I should be able to choose the time and place when I die rather than be kept alive via a machine until it's switched off.

Agree completely, people should be allowed to die with dignity. I think there should be some way of making a legal instruction that this is your wish, and that protects you from being unable to do so as a result of dementia or being in a vegetative state.

This & This.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I would hate to end up in a position where I had no control of bladder & bowel movements and even less control of my mind.

I've seen some of your posts lately mate, careful now!

 

[steveo]

I was listening to this story on the radio and wondered if one of my kids were in a similar situation what would I do. I decided i would help them to die and suffer the consequences of my actions.

 

[Dick Bate's Protege]

I know it's a different illness but what if Stephen Hawking had decided to die when he became seriously unwell? Human kind would've been robbed of one of its finest minds. IMO every life is sacred and should be preserved at all costs. Having said that, I thankfully haven't been around much sickness and death up to now in my life and am probably no fit judge.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I know it's a different illness but what if Stephen Hawking had decided to die when he became seriously unwell? Human kind would've been robbed of one of its finest minds. IMO every life is sacred and should be preserved at all costs. Having said that, I thankfully haven't been around much sickness and death up to now in my life and am probably no fit judge.

It would have been Hawking's own personal choice though and if he'd have chose to end his life early why should anyone else be allowed to have a say in that?

 

[londonblue]

Absolutely it should be allowed by law. There obviously has to be safeguards written into law to protect all parties, cheifly that the request is made when the individual is of sound mind.

We should all have the option to choose an earlier but dignified end as anyone who has witnessed a loved one die from a debilitating terminal illness will agree.

Please don't speak for everyone. My father-in-law died from motor neuron disease and I don't agree with changing the law. Yes he suffered, but as PickledSeal said, I could not at any point agree that his life wasn't worth living. Moreover, I wish he had hung on a little bit longer (about 5-6 weeks) to see our second son born: he being the only one of his 8 grandchildren he didn't get to meet.

 

[Firestorm]

He is apparently too ill to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland and under our current law any doctor who helps end his life could be charged with murder.

It seems like Dignitas ought to start a home delivery service.

its up to the individual in my opinion, but there will need to be strict guidlines, It should not be remotely possible for it to be abused by unscrupulous relatives . There would have to be extreme care taken if the person was depressive too, the last thing we want is it just to become an easy way to commit suicide

 

[Jam_Man]

Please don't speak for everyone. My father-in-law died from motor neuron disease and I don't agree with changing the law. Yes he suffered, but as PickledSeal said, I could not at any point agree that his life wasn't worth living. Moreover, I wish he had hung on a little bit longer (about 5-6 weeks) to see our second son born: he being the only one of his 8 grandchildren he didn't get to meet.

You say dont speak for everyone, but no one is. Its about choice for each individual.

The law should allow those who do wish to take that decision to do so, others like your father in law would make their own decisions to carry on if thats what they wish.

My mum suffered for 6 months with no quality of life whatsoever and she would definitely have wanted to have been able to choose when she had enough. Its not down to other people to judge if her life was worth living.

 

[londonblue]

Absolutely it should be allowed by law. There obviously has to be safeguards written into law to protect all parties, cheifly that the request is made when the individual is of sound mind.

We should all have the option to choose an earlier but dignified end as anyone who has witnessed a loved one die from a debilitating terminal illness will agree.

You say dont speak for everyone, but no one is. Its about choice for each individual.

That's the bit I was talking about. Not everyone that has "witnessed a loved one die from a debilitating terminal illness" will agree.

My father in law did indeed talk about going to Dignitas, but thankfully we talked him out of it. We can only speculate on how serious he was...

My view is that changing the law will make it too easy for unscrupulous relatives to force someone down that route. In a perfect world this wouldn't be an issue, but unfortunately that isn't the case.

 

[osymandus]

Im with Pitseablue here and other's advocating the choice . My Dad died of a brain tumour and for the last 6 months he really couldn't do anything at all . It is about giving the individual the choice not forcing it wholescale , that as far as I understand is teh point of asking for a change in the law .

 

[steveo]

Im with Pitseablue here and other's advocating the choice . My Dad died of a brain tumour and for the last 6 months he really couldn't do anything at all . It is about giving the individual the choice not forcing it wholescale , that as far as I understand is teh point of asking for a change in the law .

Was he capable of making the crucial decision though? If someone cant make that decision then it shouldnt be ok for someone else to make it for them.

 

[Jam_Man]

Was he capable of making the crucial decision though? If someone cant make that decision then it shouldnt be ok for someone else to make it for them.

Thats not a reason to not make the change though.

If a person is able to make the decision with a clear mind they should be able to, they shouldnt be prevented because other people (dementia sufferers etc) cant.

Very complicated issue but the clear cut cases shouldnt be prevented.

Legislating it will be a nightmare though.