What does everyone think about people having the right to die if they want to?
Its an emotive subject I know. My own thoughts on it are that we should be allowed to choose if we want to providing we are of sound mind to do so.
Love
Fire xx
Yes I think maybe it is a bit grim Liasons. It's going down like a lead balloon. Surprising really though when you consider some of the really explosive things we sometimes debate on here.
Mind you maybe it's my deodorant or perhaps no-ones talking to me anymore :confused2:
I'll talk to you Fire...
personally, I'm all for it...though it is a complicated one, open to abuse etc etc... so very emotive, and has issues on moral levels with many different groups of society etc etc
in my absolutely ideal-world >for sadly, old as I am... Im a deluded idealist< it would be just fine and dandy...
lp
but on the other hand:
Soylent Green is people!!!
Soylent Green is people!!!
Soylent Green is people!!!
:shock:
lp
I'm totally for it, with the necessary checks - if this could ever be possible.
i have an 81 year old friend, when her husband died she took an overdose.
She was found, stomach pumped (or whatever it is they do) and was then taken into the psychiatric ward of the local hospital. She was asked if she was intending to do the same again, and she said yes, she didnt want to live. At that point they told her that if she tried to discharge herself, they would section her.
2 years later, she lives alone. She is waiting for a knee replacement and is in constant pain, falls over frequently, she's very deaf and totally isolated. Ive tried to get her into social things but she is too tired from the painkillers. She told me yesterday "This is no life."
And she's too afraid to try to end her life again, because if she fails she thinks she will be sectioned.
So yes, I am for euthenasia. I hope that by the time I am in a similar situation, it will be an option for me.
I am also totally for it. People should have the right to decide for themselves.
Cherry this is exactly the kind of thing I was meaning hun. I really feel for people like your friend and can understand why she feels she wants to "go with her hubby" I would feel like that if I did'nt have Stormy, but would'nt be able to do anything about it as I could never leave my children and possibly by then Grand children but in another situation I know I could'nt and would'nt want to live without him.
Love
Fire xx
i'm not sure if they still do it now but the Samaritans, or some similar organisation, used to actually send someone local to you and sit with you if you wanted to commit suicide. I mean, like, watch you die basically, so you're not alone. They didn't try to stop you, just kept you company. No one wants to die alone.
No, really!
I have wrote this, then deleted it, then re wrote it so here we go.
I agree Fire with this for me personally. We all have choices in life & I would rather go when I am ready than to pursue in greater pain & suffering.
Each & every one of us are different so how can anyone else decide on what is right or wrong when there is only one person who knows how they think & how they feel- that is the person yourselves.
In my personal opinion, I would discuss this with my family & then decide what is best. Nothing would be done lightly & I would be open & honest with all the people I know & love.
Don't forget people do take their own lives now - in which has been their choice
Must admit I've never given it much thought but one thing I am certain of is that I do not want to be a burden to my family or those around me.
Seems little point in keeping someone alive if their partner and love in life has died, they want to go and the only option is for a nursing home to suck all the money away before they finally go.
On that basis I'd say yes.
Modern families don't seem to be set up to look after their old 'uns like they used to be. I wonder if my answer would be different if they were.
.
Am I right in thinking thats it's legal in some countries and not in others, so people travel abroad when they want to do it?
Or have I been watching too much telly?
one thing I am certain of is that I do not want to be a burden to my family or those around me.
You and me both Choon :thumbup: thats something I don't want to be either. Somehow I don't mind Stormy giving me a wash in the shower :twisted: but if he was tied to doing it day in day out because I could'nt move I would hate it.
Love
Fire xx
PS Would be interesting to hear from people who are not in favour though........
my first thought on this a few years ago were yes, people should have the choice to end their life legaly if they decide to.
my thoughts have since changed. my step mum was diagnosed with MNshe was given a life expectancy of 2-5 years, she lived beyond this. when she was first diagnosed it was a topic that was raised by her. her reasons being she did not want to be a burden and also did not want to be in pain. as shallow as it may be she even considered the fact that if she took her own life the life insurance would not pay out.
anyhow after looking into things and tlking to all family members it was agreed that this was not a thing to consider. she would never have been considered a burden, and the nurses reasured us she would not be in any undue pain.
she managed to communicate untill the final days and agreed then she counted every second as a blessing and knew there would never have been a "right" time to do it.
i guess its down to personal opinion. ive also had friends who have commited suicide and although i do not hold what they have done against them i do feel if they had only recieved the correct support, medical and enotional then they would never have taken that path. i feel suicide is suicide wether its done due to mental/depression reasons or long and enduring physical health reasons.
life is precious
xxxx fem xxx
Thanks Fem, that throws a completely different slant on it. There's always views for and against and obviously lots of people will have different experiences to draw from.
I am trying to imagine how I would feel if a member of my immediate family were to say to me "I don't want to be here anymore" would I be so pro euthanasia then? I don't honestly know. I would like to think I would be but without the actual experience it's hard to say.
Love
Fire x
I believe in the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia. I have a friend who campaigns for this, and convinced me a few years ago when I had some doubts.
Interesting and very informative website:
There are many misconceptions around about people with severe disabilities being "forced" or "expected" to die rather than elect to receive life-support, but the bill (the Assisted Dying bill) which has been before Parliament and will come up again for debate deals entirely with VOLUNTARY euthanasia, with the people concerned making fully-informed choices.
i do not believe in suicide. i do believe that if someone is in a postion of such pain because of an illness that it is making theirs and others around them intolerable and they are of SOUND mind and it is thier desicion to do so then why not.I made this clear to my ex i would not be happy in a situation on a bed with tubes in my mouth being kept alive by a machine. what kind of life is that.
I want to LIVE me LIFE if i cant then im not going to be a burdon on someone else and stop them living there life.
my father asked my mum & I to help him die before he got really ill with terminal cancer. He wanted us to remember him as he was & not have to see him deteriorate.
My mum was so :shock: & would not hear any more about this. I however took on board his wishes & enquired abroad & asked for leaflets to be sent to their home for them both to read.
He, unfortunately died a week after (two weeks after being diagnosed)
i forgot to mention when i was about 15 seeing an uncle die of cancer, he was always such a livley man with huge religous beliefs. One week he was fine next time i went to visit he was lying in bed a complete stick insect and almost white and i mean white. i never want to go through that. :cry:
I'm with you on this one Fire, it's a big ethical debate is this one. Personally I think it's a personal choice and it is about your own life. If you are ill and have no chance of recovery and want to end it naturally why shouldn't you be allowed? It is your body after all.
I agree, if you are in sound mind you should be given the respect of that decision.
I work with end stage cancer patients and I'm all for it. I had to watch my Dad go, in just 2 short years, from a strong, proud and independant man to someone in almost constant pain ( I have to say that the pain was due to the MRSA bug he contracted in the hospital and not his cancer although it was incurable )and totally dependant on my Mum to even help him to the toilet and wash him. He tried not to let us see the pain he was suffering but the sadness in his eyes gave it all away.
I've always said that if I contract anything like incurable cancer, Motor Neurone, MS etc then give me a first class ticket to Switzerland and wave me goodbye. The sad case of Diane Pretty a few years ago first changed my mind about Euthenasia and I stick by that even now.
I can see the point of view of the anti- brigade but with proper control it will allow people the right to choose.
Some religions say that suicide is wrong because your life is not your own, it is God's.
I think that my life is my life. As long as I do no harm to others I can do what I wish. If I were to dies it would bring pain to others, not many as I am a small cog in a big machine. There are situations when I know I would except death as a coincidence of my action, but to seek death that is different.
If someone wishes to die then safeguards must be put in place. Should a doctor help? Absolutely not. A doctor has sworn to do no harm, his own oath stops him from killing.
I'll have to watch it now! 
