Debate time? The right to assisted suicde

We've not had a decent debate in a while so thought I'd throw this out here:

Today a man with a terminal illness has lost an appeal to protect health professionals from the law should a doctor or nurse help or assist him in going to Zurich (Dignitas I assume?) He'll be able to take it to a further appeal court but at face value it is another bar to people who wish to choose assisted suicide being able to do so without fear of legal reprisals for those that have helped.

It's not set in stone but from what I've been reading and listening to on the radio today, a family member is very unlikely to face legal action in an assisted suicide case (even within the UK)

Thoughts?

I have my own opinions on this but I'll wait to see if there's any takers before getting involved. Or else we can keep talking about whether Richie is coming back or not

I watched my Dad, strong man go from 6', 195 to135 in a matter of months facing terminal cancer. I watched my Grandmother lay in a bed in a home with alzheimers for years not knowing even her own children any more. I do believe that there are things worse than death.
Hospice was an incredible help to us with Dad, he had little pain but a lot of suffering on other levels. Modern medicine can help only to a point. We started out praying for a miracle and ended up just asking for mercy. IF the person is of sound mind - Confirmed medically at least 3X (too many errors) that there is no hope, it should be an option. Quality of life is important in my eyes. I know, for our own reasons, we don't want to see someone go, but.......

Oh, and I don't know if Richie is coming back, I'd like to see it but love him either way. Distrust his hangers on right now.

It's a tricky topic. I am strongly against any type of suicide for people who have no "good" reason (if that's not the "duh" statement of the century). However, most instances of terminal illnesses involve a rapid decline in life quality towards the end, and I think it's more than fair to help that person end their life in a more dignified way if that's what they so choose.

I am not familiar with Dignitas, but I assume they don't just help end the life of anybody who waltzes in wanting to die. I'd think the person has to have a pretty undeniable reason.

Dignitas is a clinic in Switzerland which shall we say facilitates those who wish to end their life.

Understandably it's hit the headlines a number of times and there's been documentaries made about it that you can probably find on Youtube or a free docu stream site.

Reading it's Wiki entry it states that around 20% of the people who use Dignitas don't have a termina or progressive illness but I'll take that with a pinch of salt with it being Wiki and all.

Once they stopped treating my grandfather and told us all they could do was keep upping his morphine, we watched him suffer for a long 3 days until he took his final breath. We stood around his bed begging whatever higher power to just take him and end it. If he was able to communicate I know he wouldn't have wanted to go through that. I think in situations lime that, the person should have a choice. I don't think a person without a terminal illness should be able to walk into a clinic to end their life though.

I believe in the right to "choose". If you are of sound mind and you want "out" for whatever reason I figure that's your choice. Personally I think it's even more important in a health or terminal illness case - some people simply don't want to have to hang on through to the grinding, painful end. I read somewhere that the medical industry makes most of its money from you in the last few months of your life. If there is truly no hope of living a life of reasonable quality (hard to gauge) I think the option should be available.

However (and here come the caveat). People being people, some will try to take advantage of a provision such as this and decided to kill off Great Aunt Tilly before her time so that they can inherit. And certainly we all know that hospital and medical care personnel can be bribed and bought.

So what's the answer? For the record I have a Mother who was always adamant about not dying in a hospital and losing what little money she had left to the medical industry. She wrote a living will with Do Not Resuscitate orders (I am the executor). Recently however during a heart procedure, her kidneys failed due to the dye used in the heart procedure. It was explained to her that she could refuse dialysis but she did not. So when push comes to shove, will most people choose life - even for the short term? I really don't know the answer.

I don't think there's anything to debate about. If a person is terminally ill or the expected quality of life would be substandard, I don't understand why a person of sound mind shouldn't be able to end their life. Sure, there are "miracles", but mostly they don't happen. And no one can REALL tell what another person is feeling. If you're going to die anyway in the next few months, why should you suffer? Just because some doctor wants you to? Because he took an oath?

I'm for assisted suicide in medical conditions that are irreversible going to either cause death of the patient, large amounts of pain or leave them withering away. As long a person knows what he's doing, he should be allowed to choose his own way out.

As to suicides in general, I think they're not the right way. If you're not ill, there's always a way out. I've been very close to suicide attempts and know of them to say that those rescued and/or survived have been very happy they didn't die or weren't allowed to. But if the situation is irreversible and a medical fact, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to choose for yourself.

Ice

The thing is Ice, that there is something to debate here or else this guy wouldn't have to be appealling to a higher court.

Bit of a heavy subject. I should have started "should weed be legalised?"

I'll rephrase: there shouldn't be anything to debate about.

Ice

Nothing really to debate is there?