Assisted Dying

Yeah i think 6 months is a bit of a short window since there are people who maybe won’t die any time soon but could be trapped due to an illness.

The stories they told in parliament were even distressing to hear let alone be you or a member of your family.

Sounds like a living hell for some people and assisted suicide surely has to allowed but with a huge number of safeguards. I get a bit sick of religious people stating suicide is wrong. Yes it would be great if we just died in our sleep without knowing it when we get to a very old age but that is just not the reality for a lot of people. I worked at Age Concern many years ago and met many wonderful people with health conditions who were alive one week and gone the next. It's a horrible thing when people die but there has to be a base level of quality of life surely and constant pain is horrific.

It's great to see this past the first stage of legislation but wonder if it will still be stopped, does it get a second reading or whatever they call it in the house of lords and could they stop it?

"Done the right way"

They're just copying what they're already doing in Canada, and people are choosing it because...

That's one way to get rid of humans.

I’m just a bit confused. Of course I don’t want people to suffer and I think people should have the choice. It’s quite a lot of criteria to get it granted which is good. The bit I don’t understand is it’s ‘assisted’ dying but the person can only administer the medication to themselves. Surely some people aren’t able to especially with some of the conditions they have? I have listened to the counter arguments too about the vulnerable thinking someone might be coerced. That shouldn’t be possible though through all those rules. Some have said it’s not always straightforward and can be complicated and take much longer for it to work. Some people survive much longer than a doctor’s opinion. (Stephen Hawking for example?). It’s not as clear cut as we may think .

I guess it’s one step at a time. They’ll allow this to pass first before updating based on how it is received

I'm glad to see it pass through the first steps, but still a way to go before it's implemented. Rightly so it will be a rigorous process. I can fully understand why it makes some people uncomfortable but it imo it has to be an option. Even the best palliative care in the world doesn't guarantee a peaceful, dignified death. As someone who's sat with people in there last days, watching someone you love suffer is traumatic for those left behind too. There's always sadness in a death, but if we can make it calming, peaceful and dignified then I just think, Why not!

My mum dearly wanted to die, unfortunately she wouldn't qualify for these regulations as they couldn't say she only had 6 months to live - it was sometime in the next 5 years. She/we trundled on her mind was still all together but she couldn't speak/walk/eat/communicate. We lived like that for nearly 4 years hoping she'd be released sooner rather than later.

To my mind it should be a criminal offence to force someone who wants to die, because of the tremendous pain they are in, to stay alive and have to keep on enduring that pain, day in day out.

I’m all for it personally, people should have the choice. I know if I was terminally ill and suffering I’d want to be put out my misery and out of the suffering

I'm personally against it, however everyone has the right to chose, hopefully it doesn't end up going down the same road as some American states or Canada, where you can die if your depressed ect.. in some cases some chose to die because they were homeless

The pets advise us to put down pets , its for the best , put them out of misery etc. Of course it hurts! But to be honest I'm in favour of assisting death for humans. Specially if you are in a vegation state. Can't move, can't talk in pain and so on. I know I would want it to end.

It's a tricky one. Personally I'm pro it. It needs to be handled sensitively and can't be used as an excuse to get rid of those that are old or disabled