Has No one Noticed the Link...?

[AndSoFinally]

A Million threads on here about the planned cuts to disability benefits

Is no one else slightly concerned about the concurrent discussions about the Assisted Dying Bill? Does this not seem like the beginnings of a dystopian PD James novel?

I haven't seen any other thread mention this but I'm quite concerned about the direction of travel here

Scaremongering. There is no link.

I fully support the option of assisted dying.

The assisted dying bill is not a government bill and it seems that there are now a lot of concerns about its flaws. I don't think it will get through Parliament.

Yet.

Yes maybe they were waiting for someone on MN to figure it all out.

I’ve noticed. I strongly, vehemently oppose the Assisted Dying Bill. I think people are allowing the awfulness of end of life care in this country to be weaponised to suit an agenda that doesn’t have patients’ best interests at heart.

I think the fact that Western society has a huge top heavy population issue (lots of older people, not enough younger ones to pay for them) is definitely connected to assisted dying popping up at this time. It’s going to be a massive issue in the not too far future…

PD James?

I was all for assisted death until I read about Canada, where some are offered it as an option for being disabled or homeless (for instance). Or the Netherlands where a young woman with a mental illness, not a terminal illness, was able to choose euthanasia. Those of us with mental illnesses know that in that moment we cannot see that things can and do improve. To be able to choose assisted suicide is horrifying.

Our government (whoever is in charge, they’re all as bad as each other) are not trustworthy enough to create this without options that serve them.

On its own without any government intervention I would have more faith that it would be set up well.

Edited to add that I also read that Canada is planning to add dementia/Alzheimer’s for a patient to agree whilst they have mental
capacity - but at the moment they no longer have capacity they cannot tell anyone how they feel about whether they want to
die or not - I feel really uncomfortable about that. There are only some very specific circumstances where assisted dying can work safely. Do you really trust anyone we have in charge to do that?

Those against the bill have been talking about it as a cost cutting exercise quite a lot OP. Disability charities were the most vocal opponents of the bill as they could see the dangers. Domestic abuse charities have been strongly opposing the bill because of potential coercion.

I think the fact that Western society has a huge top heavy population issue (lots of older people, not enough younger ones to pay for them) is definitely connected to assisted dying popping up at this time. It’s going to be a massive issue in the not too far future…

Agree, there won't be the care available for all those who need it anyway.

I am strongly in favour of assisted dying. But actually I agree with the OP, and I do share concerns about the narrative being pushed about people with disabilities. Not so much fearing some dystopian future, but more about how people who already may struggle with quality of life and their potential impact on family members perceive themselves and their value as human beings. There's enough shit spoken about disabled people on this site alone, boiling down their "usefulness" to whether or not they should get out to work, saying they exaggerate their disabilities to obtain benefits, etc., etc. I don't think anyone stops to think what message this is sending to people who may already be very vulnerable. My worry is less that such people are persuaded or pushed into assisted dying, and more that the pervasive attitudes and messaging they receive creates an internal narrative that says they are worthless and not worthy of living.

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-figures-on-total-cost-of-disabled-people-who-cannot-work-are-chilling-echo-of-useless-eaters-propaganda/

I can’t see the overlap.
Those who they’re looking to reduce the PIP for wouldn’t qualify under the plans for assisted dying. The removal / reduction of PIP is at the opposite end of the health spectrum to those who’d qualify for assisted dying.

i have been making that point on here for a while now.
I would love to say you are wrong but experience has taught me that governments and authorities do not always have our best interests at heart and money talks loudest.

I think the worry is the criteria being expanded at a later date, which has happened in Canada, I believe.

Eta: some recipients of PIP under the special rules would actually fit the criteria for assisted dying.

I support the Assisted Dying Bill. But that's because I was with my mother while she was dying, and it took days longer than it should have done. Her agonised suffering was prolonged and cruel in a way that would get you arrested if you stood by and allowed it to happen to an animal.

The risk is the rules being relaxed to include other scenario's. Much like Canada .where homeless people and depressed people have been offered assisted suicide due to lack.of quality of life !
There are already posters saying they hope they are not here much longer because they will be so badly affected. And of course the constant being told you are a drain on the tax payers and being looked down on as feckless wasters is not helping them feel any more optimistic for the future.
I have never seen so much negativity towards disabled adults and children. The press and SM are full of it.
We are in scary times.

I think what's been most sickening is people with disabilities feeling that they have to justify themselves to a baying mob. It's been awful watching people go into detail of their private medical conditions to strangers.

I have never seen so much negativity towards disabled adults and children. The press and SM are full of it

This. It is shocking that a Labour gvt has fostered this atmosphere.

Yes, but maybe not in the sense that I think you mean OP.

In the sense that the cuts create a backdrop that may make some disabled people feel unworthy and unwanted in society, yes I see the link.
Also when many disabled people lose the top up money they need to bridge the gap between basic rate UC and an as much as possible functional, and liveable life (basic rate UC is not even enough to pay essentials in many cases), then I could see clinical depression soaring or worsening, and some may opt for assisted dying when they otherwise would not have.

You’ll get all the sarcasm and derision on here from those who have swallowed the rhetoric hook line and sinker, and are joining the baying crowds of hatred whipped up against those who are too unwell to meet the requirements of the job market. I think you have a point though.

A lady in who is very part time at my work who gets PIP is scared and saddened. I doubt she’ll lose her PIP as she is wheelchair bound amongst other things and needs assistance with most things like washing, but she is scared and saddened by the attitudes being whipped up to justify these ‘savings’ to those members of the public who have no idea what it’s like to struggle to keep a job due to health.

She wrote a dystopian novel called The Children of Men.

And not a single disability rights group does. Not one.

No disability rights group supports the assisted killing bill - maybe look up their arguments against it.

No link at all well maybe in your head! The assisted dying bill is about end of life most disabled people are nowhere near end of life stage