Legalize assisted dying. Legalize voluntary euthanasia.

It is time to give sick and terminally ill people a choice at the end of their lives.

Owing to the advances of medical science, we are living longer than ever before, sometimes beyond what is acceptably comfortable or humane. But we are also taking longer to die as well.

Also because we are living longer, degenerative and painful diseases that were not as commong to previous generations are now much more common among the elderly.

I feel this is not a moral issue but a political one. I am supposed to have a 'right' to life. If my life belongs to me, I surely have a right to relinquish it when and how I like, at a time of my own choosing.

My life belongs to no one, not God, nor the Church, nor the State. It belongs exclusively to me.

Elderly and sick people now have to fight for a basic liberty in the way that other groups in society fought for many of the rights that we now take for granted.

It is time to reach out for the ultimate in civil liberties, the right to a painless and dignified end, without fear of prosecution or censure. Some enlightened countries, notably in Europe, have now adopted this attitude.

Let the fight begin - for the ultimate freedom to choose.

Choices

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'No one can make you inferior without your consent.'
Eleanor Roosevelt.

Legalize assisted dying. Legalize voluntary euthanasia.

It is time to give sick and terminally ill people a choice at the end of their lives.

Owing to the advances of medical science, we are living longer than ever before, sometimes beyond what is acceptably comfortable or humane. But we are also taking longer to die as well.

Also because we are living longer, degenerative and painful diseases that were not as commong to previous generations are now much more common among the elderly.

I feel this is not a moral issue but a political one. I am supposed to have a 'right' to life. If my life belongs to me, I surely have a right to relinquish it when and how I like, at a time of my own choosing.

My life belongs to no one, not God, nor the Church, nor the State. It belongs exclusively to me.

Elderly and sick people now have to fight for a basic liberty in the way that other groups in society fought for many of the rights that we now take for granted.

It is time to reach out for the ultimate in civil liberties, the right to a painless and dignified end, without fear of prosecution or censure. Some enlightened countries, notably in Europe, have now adopted this attitude.

Let the fight begin - for the ultimate freedom to choose.

Choices

I am 52 years old.......I am fading fast........
I hope that when my time here is done, I will achieve a graceful exit........
And somebody will care for the kitties.........
That's all I really want from life on this side.......

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Legalize assisted dying. Legalize voluntary euthanasia.

It is time to give sick and terminally ill people a choice at the end of their lives.

Owing to the advances of medical science, we are living longer than ever before, sometimes beyond what is acceptably comfortable or humane. But we are also taking longer to die as well.

Also because we are living longer, degenerative and painful diseases that were not as commong to previous generations are now much more common among the elderly.

I feel this is not a moral issue but a political one. I am supposed to have a 'right' to life. If my life belongs to me, I surely have a right to relinquish it when and how I like, at a time of my own choosing.

My life belongs to no one, not God, nor the Church, nor the State. It belongs exclusively to me.

Elderly and sick people now have to fight for a basic liberty in the way that other groups in society fought for many of the rights that we now take for granted.

It is time to reach out for the ultimate in civil liberties, the right to a painless and dignified end, without fear of prosecution or censure. Some enlightened countries, notably in Europe, have now adopted this attitude.

Let the fight begin - for the ultimate freedom to choose.

Choices

I hope you do not plan on leaving us anytime soon, Mac Girl! :(


Personally, I think that everyone should have a choice instead of being forced to live off medicine or machines.

...but there are some views which may directly conflict with your own, especially in the religious right here in the U.S. (note these views are not my own, but only included for conversation):

Your life does not belong to you according to the hardcore religious types. Your life belongs to God and God will take you when He's good and ready. It is up to you to make the most of life until He calls you home.

It has been often argued that people of sound mind and body always argue that they want to go quickly and painlessly when the time comes, but that during those crucial last moments before a plug is pulled, allegedly people beg to live and claim that they do not want to die. It is most certainly true that actually being in the position can have an affect on one's perceptions and thinking than to make up one's mind without actually being in the position of losing one's life.

It is also argued that those who insist on dying even at the final hour are not of sound mind or body, and are therefore incapable of making such decisions. It is for this reason that many people are making their own "Living Wills" with "right to die" clauses so that their wishes are respected, but more than one court has been known to override this clause in successful (for the prosecuting) cases.

In fact, one very well publicized case in the U.S. (which really should not have gotten so much attention, but the family pushed it as public as it could go, even appealing to and involving then President Bush despite the husband's concerns) was the Terry Schiavo controversy. I followed this story to the conclusion and was quite satisfied with its ending.

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Hello Ozz Fan,
No, of course I have no plans to leave this mortal coil. I do suffer some pain, but it is manageable and at the moment life is well worth living.

The Schiavo article was interesting, but were they not keeping her alive artificially, in which case they were surely acting contrarily to what Nature or 'God' intended anyway? She died naturally after her feeding tube was removed.

This is what I say about medical science. It so often keeps people 'alive' long after what 'God' or 'Nature' intended. Meanwhile these people have no quality of life at all. But they can become political pawns for a wider agenda. I am sure her family loved her, but what of the Government or the Courts? Did they do it merely for altruistic reasons or because they wanted to push a political/religious agenda?

I have very little faith in the State making decisions about what is best for people in awful circumstances like this, and of course she could not speak for herself. If she could have done, would they have listened anyway?

I recognise that there are arguments on both sides of the debate. One argument is that once a country legalizes assisted suicide or euthanasia, it is only one step away from forcing people to die against their wishes.
But I am not sure if there is any real evidence for this. Sure, there will always be some cases like that, where a doctor might kill someone against their wishes, but that is happening right now in societies where assisted dying is not legal.

There will always be doctors who kill people without their consent, in the same way that there will always be teenagers who commit suicide. It doesn't matter whether a society has assisted dying as a legal option or not.

I think some countries are still studying the Dutch model. So far, they say it seems - for the most part - to be working quite well.

I remain optimistic that such a law, if it were legalized in the UK, will not be open to abuse in the way some people might think.

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'No one can make you inferior without your consent.'
Eleanor Roosevelt.

We have a physician and professor here named Timothy Quill who has been deeply involved in the End-of-Life/Euthanasia issues.

Here's his bio with some articles he's written listed at the bottom.

http://www.stronghealth.com/services/palliative/quill.cfm

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Thank you for that. I shall look through it.

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'No one can make you inferior without your consent.'
Eleanor Roosevelt.

Eluana Englaro has died after being 17 years in coma. Her father had asked that artificial feeding and hydration be terminated, and the Corte di Cassazione, after a long legal battle, had said he had the right to ask this. The Berlusconi government, after President Napolitano had refused to sign a decree to this end, was trying to have a law approved by both houses of Parliament where he has a majority in order to make the feeding compulsory. The Senate voted today as he wanted but since the feeding was stopped in a clinic last Friday Eluana died today at 20.10 ECT. May she rest in peace. The House vote should come on Wednesday.
Tullio

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You know, I really think sometimes, this is not about trying to conserve someone's life; it's more about trying to keep control over other people's lives.
Governments kill people all the time. They're not interested in saving life. Everything politicians do is all about politics, and far less about altruism or humanitarianism.
She was a political pawn in the eyes of this politician: no more, no less.
It's all about power. They just don't want individuals to have power over their own lives and deaths.
I'd never trust a politician to do anything for me on moral grounds. I'd rather have the freedom to make up my own mind about my own destiny.

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'No one can make you inferior without your consent.'
Eleanor Roosevelt.

We won't have that freedom without Living Wills and Advanced Directives. It's just as important to let your family know about your wishes before the decision needs to be made: in writing. Then no one can dispute the wishes of the dying person.

Theala

You know, I really think sometimes, this is not about trying to conserve someone's life; it's more about trying to keep control over other people's lives.
Governments kill people all the time. They're not interested in saving life. Everything politicians do is all about politics, and far less about altruism or humanitarianism.
She was a political pawn in the eyes of this politician: no more, no less.
It's all about power. They just don't want individuals to have power over their own lives and deaths.
I'd never trust a politician to do anything for me on moral grounds. I'd rather have the freedom to make up my own mind about my own destiny.

It should be a choice. If the person makes or has made known that they do not want to be forever hooked to a feeding tube, then this wish should be honored. If a person decides that they do not want to live through the bitter end of a terminal disease, then this should be honored as well. Conversely, if a person wishes to fight to the bitter end no matter the pain, this should be honored as well. There are of course financial problems that need to be addressed. For example, what to do when the family runs out of insurance and other money to pay for extended hospital care, and the state has to take over care.

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