the right to die

on sky ch 243 now

a man has travelled to Switzerland so he can die in a dignified way. he suffers(ed) from motor neurone disease and wishes to not put his loved ones thru anymore pain andsuffering. just caught sky news report showing him taking a lethal dose of barbituates which induces coma then death 30 minutes later. I gotta admit the moment he finished drinking the drugs then his wife telling him she loved him was fcking emotional!!

is it right tho? orgers discuss if you will

I didn`t see the film and for me I suppose it`s a bit hypocritical to say it but yes I do support assisted suicide. I always thought that as a nurse my goal would be to preserve life at all costs but since working in palliative care my outlook has changed.

If I`m nursing somebody with cancer I can control most symptoms that my patient may encounter as part of the "dying process" ie. pain, nausea, agitation but diseases such as Huntingtons Chorea or Motor Neurone are a different matter altogether. I`ve never witnessed such suffering! and to me the worst part of it is that the patient is mentally alert and as such fully aware of what is going on. If you take Motor Neurone for example it is such an awful death.... the patient will basically drown on their own saliva and that is such a terrible thing to have to both endure and witness.

You commented on how emotional the moment was when his wife told him how much she loved him.... I see that all the time in my job and I`m priviledged to be there and be part of that but it breaks my heart.

I believe everybody has the right to die with dignity and for that reason I support assisted suicide as long as the person is fully aware of what they are consenting to and is mentally able to make the decision and has the agreement of his/her family. No person should have to endure terminal suffering that is unremitting, unbearable, or prolonged. When the burdens of life outweigh the benefits because of uncontrollable pain, severe psychological suffering, loss of dignity, or loss of quality of life as judged by the patient, and when the circumstances are not remediable, the dying person should be able to ask for and receive help in assisted suicide.

[DarrenSV650S]

Originally Posted by Speedy Claire

....
I believe everybody has the right to die with dignity and for that reason I support assisted suicide as long as the person is fully aware of what they are consenting to and is mentally able to make the decision and has the agreement of his/her family. No person should have to endure terminal suffering that is unremitting, unbearable, or prolonged. When the burdens of life outweigh the benefits because of uncontrollable pain, severe psychological suffering, loss of dignity, or loss of quality of life as judged by the patient, and when the circumstances are not remediable, the dying person should be able to ask for and receive help in assisted suicide.

+1

it's perfectly acceptable for people to have their pets put down in order to bring an end to their suffering. So why all the fuss when a human chooses the same route for themselves? I hope I never end up dehabilitated and suffering, but if I did I'd like to be able to go quickly and with dignity. For those left behind - I'd die one way or another, it would just be a bit sooner and probably in a less distressing way.

I didn't watch the programme. I didn't want to, I didn't want to see somebody die. I watched my father's and my father in law's last moments, and that was quite enough. In both cases they died of cancer. Their suffering was hideous. I so wanted them to die to end it all but then at the same time I didn't.

The decision made by Mr Ewart was intensely personal and harrowing. The law is in a terrible state of confusion. Assisting a suicide is an offence, yet the Director of Public Prosecutions personally took the decision not to prosecute the parents in the last high-profile case. I think that that is right. Prosecutions should happen only if there is some other motive.

I believe that an individual should be able to decide when to die. But people choosing to end their own lives should think very carefully about the effects on others - we have debated this on here and many have suffered terribly because someone they love has taken this action.

I have told my wife that I don't wish to be resuscitated if there is no hope of something approaching a normal life. I wouldn't want to be a burden on anyone and I would want her to be able to move on.

Personally, I'm pro-suicide in all cases, not just in the case of terminally ill people. If people find their life genuinely too hard to bear, then I think they have a right to anything that may alleviate this.

And yes, I'm fully aware of the consequences to the family of a suicide-victim, as the mother of one of my close friends killed herself a few years back, and I had to watch the family go through the suffering that it brought. It still doesn't change my stance.

I absolutely believe in the right to end your own life rather than die a painful, distressing, tortuous, undignified death. I also understand why the lad who was paralysed in the rugby accident, chose to end his life.

We dont let animals go through it so why should we treat ourselves any differently?

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Speedy Claire

I believe everybody has the right to die with dignity and for that reason I support assisted suicide as long as the person is fully aware of what they are consenting to and is mentally able to make the decision and has the agreement of his/her family.

I was going to write something, but you summed up how I feel.

I really dont see what the problem is with assisted suicide, we should be supporting these people and their families, not making them feel like criminals...

Originally Posted by Neeja

Personally, I'm pro-suicide in all cases, not just in the case of terminally ill people. If people find their life genuinely too hard to bear, then I think they have a right to anything that may alleviate this.

And yes, I'm fully aware of the consequences to the family of a suicide-victim, as the mother of one of my close friends killed herself a few years back, and I had to watch the family go through the suffering that it brought. It still doesn't change my stance.

I think the issue being disucssed here, though, is the availability of choice for the individual in relation to significantly declined health where death is an inevitability. It doesn't help to compare the two as they are very different matters.

I'm wondering whether I asked the right question... I dont expect much of a debate as to whether assisted suicide should be legalised, more of a stimulating question would be whether its voyeuristic and the documentary is in bad taste and undignified...