I struggle to see what they all keep talking about. It seems to have a lot of things wrong with how they want to implement it in my opinion, mostly about how it would be done practically. But they seem to be messing around with coercion.
I do think coercion could become an issue for a small minority and needs guarding against. But as anyone being assisted will have less than 6 months left to live, even a coerced person would only lose a very short span of life. Balancing this against the pain and suffering that might be alleviated for other terminally ill people and I think the risk is worth it.
I've said it before but no one seems to argue it, we will end up in a situation where people have to take their own life far earlier, whilst they still can, if we deny them the right to do it when they can't. It would be very simple to have an opt out, like with organ donations or have our wishes written into a living will. If confidentially written into our medical records then it would be harder to coerce anyone of sound mind. I also find it slightly offensive that they believe it an excuse to get rid of the severely disabled. Many of the parent or carers for those with extreme needs are the most dedicated people to keeping them going, despite all the pain and effort. We see it with court fights for children who don't have a chance, where the doctors want to remove care but the parents fight for them. My grandad had a dnr and was suffering from severe dementia, yet they still tried to get him back when he had a heart attack. I feel sorry for the poor lady at the home that tried. In the old days they would have just left and "found" him a bit later.
I had this conversation with my Dad a few months ago. He is 88, nearly 89, and absolutely adamant that he does not want to be kept alive if he has no quality of life. We sat down and talked about various scenarios that could arise, and I pointed out that the situation might mean that he was unable to communicate his wishes himself (always supposing they took any notice). I managed to obtain information and paperwork that he completed, witnessed by a neighbour (not me !) and a copy has been sent to his surgery and signed by his doctor. Whether this will make any difference if god forbid the worst should happen, I have no idea, but he feels he's done the best he can. A few weeks later my friend's BIL died in dreadful circumstances. He was terminally ill and they knew nothing could be done, but he was kept alive and crying in pain (in spite of morphine), while his organs failed one by one. Where is the compassion in that ? I have no quarrel with people who believe in the sanctity of human life above everything, that is their perogative, and I appreciate that there are arguments on both sides, but I pray that my Dad doesn't die like that, nor myself or OH if it comes to it.
What's happened to "your human rights" if you want to die To much red tape and people don't have a say or a leg to stand on, lots of people are having mentel problems because of red tape, i even know of 1 person that ended his life because of red tape and now because of it there is lots more problems with sorting out things, not just for his family but his had a buisness which now customers are now having problems
@redstar what planet are you living on? They are deporting anyone they can get hold of who is brown and therefore of native American origins tho not necessarily US American. They don't even bother when ID papers show otherwise. Native American actor says she was detained by ICE officers who said tribal ID ‘looked fake’ is just one case they failed but the ex girlfriend of the Trump's press person's brother is a legal immigrant of Brazilian origins and she and their son have gone, no-one knows where. They are blatantly not targetting just criminals or even very many crminals as innocent people going about their daily lives are much easier targets. You also have to wonder why, if what they are doing is legal and correctly targetted, they have to go in mob-handed and wearing masks.
I see that applying for a visa waiver to visit the USA will now require providing access to five years worth of social media history! It’s fortunate that I will not be planning to visit there, while the demented one is in charge! This might be the only social media site I visit, but I’ve certainly said a few things on here that would offend the thin skinned one! Maybe this is more fake news though. I see that he was filmed saying that he would release video of the second strike on a supposed drug running boat. When asked about it, said that was fake news, he had never said that, and that the (female) reporter who had asked was ‘the most obnoxious reporter in the whole place’. Basically called himself a liar, then behaved like a badly behaved child. Remind me again of the signs of dementia? At least Biden had the dozing off kind, not the psyopathic tendency. A shame though, as we would regularly escape the British winter by spending a couple of weeks in Florida or beautiful San Diego.
On the subject of assisted dying, I attended a talk from a member of our local hospice charity. Despite providing what I would classify as a an essential service, only 25% of their funding comes from local health spending ( and that’s up from 17% until quite recently) The rest of the money comes from charity funding and donations. This doesn’t seem at all right to me. I have wondered whether we should start identifying local drug dealers, in case we want quick access to a lethal dose of something. Is this an untapped but illegal market opportunity if one became desperate? What a sobering thought.
Again I will say, not going to address information that others receive from false Media. BBC has already been proven false, who knows what others listen to that they believe. Moving on.
A long established and much admired local-ish hospice is so short of funds that it is in danger of closing down. They have done everything they can think of (charity shops in large towns, furniture warehouses where you can buy second hand good quality furniture, shake the can events, the lot) but still have had to close about half their available beds with more on the cards.
Not funding hospices is so short-sighted. They save the NHS a shedload of money and take a lot of pressure off services. As we are generally living longer but with multiple health conditions, hospices are needed like never before.
@redstar None of the cases I mentioned are from BBC reports but from US sources! You make a fine ostrich.
The Assisted Dying bill has gone beyond a joke now. I understand there is now a debate on the age limit. Some are saying that scientific research has proved a person does not attain adulthood until they reach the age of 25 as their brain is not fully developed until then and that they are therefore incapable of making such an important decision. This is alongside the possibility that the voting age will be reduced from 18 to 16 in order to allow young people to have their views taken into consideration. The impression given is that the govt only agreed to the possibility of legislating for Assisted Dying to try and shut down the whole subject. Coercion/Persuasion is always a possibility but not in the majority of cases. Personally speaking, I don't even know why assisted dying is limited to those diagnosed with a terminal illness with an expected life span of 6 months or less. We constantly hear about Human Rights so why does this not apply in this instance? By the time you have jumped thru all the legal hoops of medics, judges, lawyers etc., you would be ready to give up life whether you had 6 months or 6 years.
I think politicians are the last people who should be debating this at this level. Not sure just experts coming up with a plan would be much more sensible given some of our experiences with medics but surely it should be possible to find a sensible group combined of health care experts who know the main illnesses and disabilities that make life intolerable for sufferers as well as carers on the frontline and some patients too. If they can't come up with a viable, opt-in plan then there's no way a bunch of mere MPs can.
