To think people should not use 'we put pets to sleep' as an argument to allow assisted dying?

I very much agree with this. My parents are very elderly and have a number of serious health conditions which means that their life expectancy is very limited. If either are asked to attend a medical appointment we now ask why they need to attend and how this will benefit them. The stress on them of having to attend a medical appointment is significant and usually outweighs any benefit in attending. I am taking my mum to an appointment this week and we have to be there for 9.30 a.m. The appointment is 20 miles away and we will need to get a taxi as her mobility is so poor. We asked for the appointment to be made later in the day as mum will need help to get washed and dressed and were told no.

I think it’s very British tbh, a way of making your wishes known in a self deprecating way without turning it into a thing. Theres lots of euphemisms for the same thing. Take me round the back and shoot me (if this happens to me) is a thing in my rural farming community. People don’t want to imagine themselves suffering in future.

I did say upthread but it’s worth repeating if you do feel that way then declining medical treatment in an advanced directive in the event of dementia / other illnesses can give you a degree of control.

What has that got to do with the Assisted Dying bill - in either this country or others?

Exactly - instead of drawing up a living will or doing something legal about it, you are pressuring someone you love to end your misery.

Thats not kind. At all.

Currently watching my uncle die a slow, confused, undignified death of dementia.
when he was a bit better he did say ‘I want to go, can I? I suppose I can’t’
its heartbreaking. He can’t feed himself now let alone advocate for his own choices.

Yes, then the best thing they can do is to draw up a living will and when unwell have a RESpect form/ DNAR.

Surely thats a far more practical and sensible thing to do than asking your spouse to murder you

Right. So it literally has nothing to do with euthanising pets, which is what OP is saying. So why keep bringing 'we euthanise the pets we own' into it? There are better arguments to make!

Language expressions are not always litteral.

I think that's an incredibly cruel burden to put on someone you love, actually. Making a person who loves you feel tortured with guilt because they don't want to kill you and potentially go to prison for it, is selfish as fuck.

But we don’t do that.

We make decisions for our pets and I have had to do that, and it was the right decision.

As people though, we take that decision ourselves and we should be allowed to do that.

If someone does not like it then they don’t have to do it.

Because some people would rather die with dignity than have a prolonged, painful, suffering before they die. Surely you know this? "Just put a pillow over my head" = "I don't want to suffer".

so then why say it? why say "put a pillow over my head"

All of the people commenting “we love our pets and we love people too so why not give them the same ending” are spectacularly missing (and reinforcing) the point the OP is making!

Pet owners have the control and choice to end their pets life. If assisting dying becomes legal no one will have that control and choice over another person. You would only have that choice over yourself. So using pets to support the case for legalising it is wholly irrelevant.

Personally, I’m in favour of legalising assisted dying. But I don’t think it should be legalised until we have fully reformed and improved health care provision and palliative care provision. People need and deserve to have a good quality alternative to dying before they can make a reasoned choice to still end their life.

I look at it a bit like abortion. If you don’t agree with it, don’t avail yourself of the procedure. And if others decide differently, it’s not your concern.

But thats the entire point - if others are making the decision for you, or coercing you into it then it IS your concern. It would be just as bad if someone was forced to have an abortion they didnt want

Of course no one wants a loved one to end up in prison for ending their misery.

That’s why we need an
Assisted Dying Bill.

Shame it didn’t go through because MP’s are worried about losing their seats.

I think the argument is that we treat pets more kindly than people, by not allowing them to suffer unduly.

I look at it a bit like abortion. If you don’t agree with it, don’t avail yourself of the procedure. And if others decide differently, it’s not your concern.

Ah, sorry – I misread! Wow, that seems very irresponsible of the vets, unless they're all willing to take the animal off the owner's hands (as the one you mention did). In which case it's lovely!

I know my husband has said to me more than once that if he ever “ends up like my dad”, he wants me to put a pillow over his face.

I suspect people often say things like this as a throwaway comment, without really thinking through what they're actually asking of the person they love.

But, seriously, do people genuinely think that in a situation like that, their spouse is realistically going to be able to just comply? And do they consider the possibility of their partner then facing a lengthy prison sentence - potentially 15 years or more, an acceptable consequence?

It’s very easy to say, “I’d want you to help me die” when you're healthy and imagining a hypothetical future. It's quite another thing to consider what that request could actually mean for the person being asked to carry it out.

I agree. There are some reasonable arguments in favour of assisted suicide, especially in regards to terminal illnesses.
But 'letting people suffer is bad, and we don't let animals suffer, we mercy kill them when we decide it's appropriate because they can't decide for themselves...' is a dubious line of thought.

I am a cat owner not a vet. I have insurance to make sure it is possible to pay for long term treatment if quality of life is likely to be good.
I know several vets and one of them is currently living with a beautiful cat she refused to euthanise for the convenience of the original owner. And my sister was refused when her cat became incontinent .

I do think this is a slightly seperate arguement on whether people who are suffering and have a poor quality of life should be subjected to life lengthening treatment. the NHS is a bit of a conveyor belt and it’s quite good at keeping people alive regardless of whether that is the best thing for them. I’d always advise people to sort out advance medical directives so that treatment (beyond pain relief) can be refused.

it’s important that realistic conversations are had with people on what they want to happen in the event of x, y, z. I am pretty pragmatic though Im not offended by the idea of turning down routine vaccinations for flu and Covid or antibiotics for pneumonia in the event I develop dementia as in the absence of assisted dying changes refusal of treatment is one of the few options you can control.

I do think the NHS should think sbout the whole patient. We started refusing to take very elderly frail relative to unnecessary appointments to “keep an eye” on things as she was very distressed by them and was dying of something else so keeping an eye on various conditions and having scans just felt like a tickbox exercise.

I think there would be many cases of granny being cajoled into it, which is why I don’t support it.

Having watched my dad die a horrific death from cancer I can say with absolute confidence and certainty that when we put our beloved cat down at home he had a far more dignified and peaceful death. YABU.

My fil has dementia, and my mil (not to put too fine a point on it!) would happily put him on this pathway. She seems to just want the ‘problem’ dealt with, before it gets any worse.

Apart from the dementia, he’s healthy, active and enjoys life. He likes going out in the car, with my husband, he enjoys seeing family, as he kinda recognises us, bless him.
Obviously, he won’t stay this way forever. Dementia is a cruel beast.
Fil’s behaviour will become more challenging, and his current care home won’t be able to meet his needs, etc.

If he could consent, would he want to end his life that way?
I know my husband always says to me that he wants me to put a pillow over his face, if he ‘ends up like my dad’.

Having just watched my dad suffer and die a slow painful death I would have chosen to end his suffering if I could have done.