Euthanasia what do you think ?

[izzieamy]

Euthanasia: should it be legalised for the severely handicapped and terminaly ill ?

Any response welcome, as long as its sensible :)
xxx

[baileybird]

i believe it should be - obviously with strict guidelines. It amazes me that you can be prosecuted for keeping animals hanging on to life and yet you can be prosecuted for helping a human being not to.
Clearly there would need to be professional medical intrvention as it is an area open to abuse, but I hope that if I got so sick and wanted to end my life with dignity, no one would be prosecuted who helped me.

[izzieamy]

Thank you so much baileybird thats really helped ! :)
xx

[weeal]

I totally agree with baileybird

[bensmum]

I agree - I think that people should have the right to choose

[Squitty]

As long as when you give your consent to be euthanased? you are mentally able to do so.

[Lakitu]

The Swiss have a good system. 2 doctors must agree that your quality of life is poor and that you are not mentally unstable at the time of your request. It should be the same here.

[Schutzengel]

Could we trust there being sufficient safeguards, here in the UK.

[Beanmistriss]

IMO Yes for terminally ill as people could make their wishes known and give consent before they got too ill to be incapacitated. No for severly disabled peple if they could not give consent and have capacity to understand the decision. Then you'd just have families popping off people cos they couldn't be @rsed to look after them. I work with people with disabilities and you'd be surprised hoe selfish families can be and how completly misguided they can be and not even realise

[Info Bank]

I tend to take the opinion of Beanmistriss.

Mind you a lot of the families are not likely to to go down the Eutanasia road as they tend to live of the Benifits that There handicapped relitive receives .

Im not badmouthing this but the benifit becomes Houshold income.

[thugulike]

I've made a Living Will, available from the Euthanasia Society. This means if I lose my mental faculties and have, say pneumonia, they wouldn't treat me but let me die. I made this decision to ease any burden on mr thug. If I'm ever in that position he won't have to make a decision as I've already made it for him. Strangely, he isn't happy about it at all. It is about dignity and quality of life. I am uneasy about other people making that decision as their motives could be questionned.

[MWB]

thugulike.
Mr Thug might be able to overturn the will when, (the gods forbid) you ever get into that situation. I've heard of family members filing injunctions to do just that, & there you lie waiting for it to come to court to be ruled on. Some family members win, some don't & the will is upheld.

[cab]

Difficult one, personally I say yes.
I have seen my closest family die of cancer in terrible circumstances.
I have made a living will.

[cassa333]

I think that is up to each person to decide for themselves and as everyone should make a will perhaps they should make a living will as well.

If a Jahova's witmess can allow their child to die for religious reasons then why can't the rest of us decide our own fate?

At the end of the day it should be about quality of life for that person. If for example you have person A who was born with a severe mental and physical disability and person B who aquired the same type of disability later, who is to say B would want to live like that just because A has?

[thugulike]

I think the dilemma is greater than most imagine. I had twins when I was younger who suffered from twin to twin transfer syndrome. One twin died and the other was not expected to live. I was advised to leave the surviving twin in hospital to die, which wouldn't take very long. I refused to accept that decision and fought to take my baby home. I made such a nuisance of myself that they eventually allowed him to go home. I was given medication for 1 day as they said he wouldn't live longer than that. I was told by the consultant that he would be a mental and physical idiot. I refused to believe it. He played rugby for his school and gained a place at university. The experience was character building shall we say. Who of us is capable and qualified to act as God?

Yes, I have made a living will. That is my choice and was designed to take any feelings of guilt away from mr thug. Not giving somebody antibiotics, for example, to save a life without dignity or quality is not the same as euthanasia. I am sympathetic to euthansia when the person is capable of making that decision themselves. I am not comfortable with others taking that decision on their behalf. Too many conflicts of interest for my liking.