Assisted suicide

fungus_the_muffin_man

yeehaamcgee wrote:

miss notax wrote:

Not sure I approve of people being allowed to dictate when they die just because they are 'weary of life' as it was put.


Anyway, I think choice is the main thing.

Choice is the main thing. If those people choose to end it, then why stop them?

So things are going bad, your wife's left you with the kids, your living in a bedsit, you lose your job, life is as low as it has ever been. You decide your life is over and choose to take your own life. Yet had you waited another week your wife came back to you, your back home, you get an even better job and life is better than ever.

But non of that will happen as you've taken the assisted suicide route. Not such a great idea now is it?

fungus_the_muffin_man

As for the program I haven't watched it, but it's a subject that has a bearing on me due to work. I work as an ICU nurse so see people at the extremes of pain and suffering whether physical or mental.

People like to think assisted suicide is a good idea yet thousands of others will fight hard to get prescribed expensive drugs just to give themselves and their familes an extra few months, weeks or days together.

Legalisation of Assisted suicide open's up the risk of abuse of the system. It would only be a matter of time until the first case hit the law courts regarding whether someone was really assisted to commit suicide or murdered.

You could also argue that the withdrawal of treatment that is used on a patient when we have tried everything is a form of assisted suicide. Infact some Dr's will refuse to do this as that is what they believe.

I would agree that the law is probably there due to religion dictating law rather than another means. However I believe the subject is one of taboo for the majority of the nation. And far to complex for it to ever be passed as a law.

Anonymous

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

People like to think assisted suicide is a good idea yet thousands of others will fight hard to get prescribed expensive drugs just to give themselves and their familes an extra few months, weeks or days together.

That's the caveat. It's a choice, it's not forced on anybody. There are those who are against the idea, because of their personal set of morals, or religious beliefs. Why should they get to dictate what others, who do not share the same view, are allowed to do?

fungus_the_muffin_man

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Fungus The Muffin Man wrote:

People like to think assisted suicide is a good idea yet thousands of others will fight hard to get prescribed expensive drugs just to give themselves and their familes an extra few months, weeks or days together.

That's the caveat. It's a choice, it's not forced on anybody. There are those who are against the idea, because of their personal set of morals, or religious beliefs. Why should they get to dictate what others, who do not share the same view, are allowed to do?

But personal choices can change, because people aren't predictable and change their minds as events around them shape them. It's how you can keep the records up to date.

Now I agree that if someone is fully competent then they could be allowed to choose this way to die if the law allowed it and that would be personal choice which should be respected.
The issues around assisted suicide are more controversial when the person isn't competent for whatever reason. If we say have a advanced directive stating a person agrees to assisted suicide if they become "a cabbage" . What if that person changes their mind talking to relative and on the way to change it has a life changing stroke. The documentation says assist them yet the person may not actually want that. The legal precedent would be to carry out the directive. Which would actually be innacurate.

I know this may sound stupid but there would be issues that would occur which would mean people being assisted wrongly as well as vice versa.


Also as a side note aren't all our laws dictated to us due to moral or religious beliefs? So there will probably always be a for and against most laws.

Anonymous

Most of your points are answered in the program. Watch it first.

fungus_the_muffin_man

I'll have a look for it and get it watched.

bails87

I think the biggest problem for me is you don't know what will happen and what you'll actually want in the future if you end up with an injury/illness where you can't express your wishes.

Sound mind and body = probably don't want to die, but you can make plans for if something happens.

Unsound mind = You may say you want something but do you really want it?

Sound mind trapped in a damaged body = You may want something, but are you able to communicate it?

So you might make a statement that you want to be allowed to die if you end up 'trapped' due to paralysis or brain injury. But if that should actually happen, you might change your mind, unfortunately you're unable to communicate that.

The potential for abuse is also a concern.

I think, in principle, it's a good idea, if someone really wants to kill themselves, are they going to do it anyway? If so, should we allow it to happen in a dignified, peaceful, pain free, relatively non-traumatic way? It's got to be better than chucking yourself under a train or your kids coming home to find you hanging from a tree in the garden.

Anonymous

bails87, have YOU watched the show? Again, most of that is covered.

Gazlar

bails87 wrote:

dignified, peaceful, pain free, relatively non-traumatic way? It's got to be better than chucking yourself under a train

Chuck away, as much time off as I like on full pay

Seriously though, the crude way of looking at it is we live in an increasingly overpopulated world with a growing burden on the welfare state, if someone wants to shuffle off because they have no quality of life, then why should good money be pumped in saving them from a death they actually want? Its better for everyone, even thiose close to the person, yes it may be hard but time is a healer.

Kaise

Gazlar wrote:

yes it may be hard but time is a healer.

spoken like a true crudite!

i actually whole heartidly agree and so have nothing further to add

=potato

bails87

yeehaamcgee wrote:

bails87, have YOU watched the show? Again, most of that is covered.

No, I'm too busy at work, this soylent green doesn't slaughter itself you know.....

I will try to watch it at some point though.

lvquestpaddler

I haven't watched it, will try to this weekend but I once saw a programme on capital punishment in the US, and how all the methods such as electrocution and lethal injection were just terrible and really, they'd found that gassing with inert gases at the lower end of the periodic table did it efficiently, and with the person in a pure state of calm, asphyxiation without the associated panic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_bag

Who needs Dignitas?

You'll never get one here in the UK I doubt, so a bit of Blue Peter skills and sourcing the gas is all that's needed.
As an atheist I find it insulting that some church paedo in glittery dress reading a Harry Potter-esque book of nonsense can dictate how and when I die. (ie painfully and with no quality of life or dignity)