Euthanasie, dont legalise in UK.

[MrsMarkieParkie]

I just read that 8% of deaths in Canada last year happened via euthanasia. This doesnt sit right with me. Also, as described in the article, the protocol seems mostly the same as the US death by lethal injection.
Do we want this in the UK?

you'd be (rightly) locked up for treating animals the way we treat older/in pain people - its a fiucking disgrace

I watched my Mum, die from Dementia less than 5 weeks ago.

It was a death I would not wish on my worst enemy, she had no hope of recovery and she died without eating or drinking for 2 weeks, she was thirsty but as she could not swallow we could not even wet her lips.

In this country we should give the person and family the right in the last few weeks to decide that they be given an injection.

I will never get over what I witnessed.

I think a lot of education needs to be given people about dying we shy away from it then people are shocked that it can be a horrible process

I couldn't agree more, Felixss; we're notoriously bad at this in the UK and so many seem to regard death as as failure, when actually it's a natural process and something none of us will escape

That said, natural doesn't always mean pleasant and certainly not pain free, and that's where the euthanasia debate comes in

I’d like the option!

Some stats from the Canada report:

• 80% were on a palliative care pathway
• ~2/3 cancer was the main medical cause followed by cardiovascular disease
• Alzheimers/dementia not represented (I am assuming my low because unable to give consent. Family members cannot give consent on behalf of another.)

This subject is very close to my heart. In December 2021 my father ended my mother's life and then attempted to take his own. He survived and is now in prison in Cyprus and we are in the midst of a murder trial. My mum had terminal blood cancer, she couldn't take any more pain and wanted to go on her own terms. My parents were desperate and my whole family has been plunged into a nightmare.

As a society, we have to do better. Yes, there need to be safeguards in place but we need to give people the option to die with dignity on their own terms.

I never understand why we accept that putting beloved pets to sleep when they become too sick to have any quality of life is the best thing to do yet we expect people to be kept alive at all cost when it is obvious they are in pain/have no wish to live anymore...

I don't see why you think your opinion should prevent people to choose a dignified exit.

I certainly would not want to live once I lose my independence/develop dementia or if I a terminal illness drag things on past the point where my quality of life is gone.

It is perfectly feasible to put enough safeguards in place to make euthanasia a choice for those who want it.

But that means going beyond the usual knee-jerk arguments about religious nonsense and the idea that life must be preserved at all cost.

I feel that TV is to blame to a point. Death is not someone lucid, talking to relatives, then passing away with a smile on their face moments later. Active dying can take days, and then it is things like terminal agitation, secretions (the death rattle), all odd patterns of breathing, things like suddenly sitting up etc.

I feel that TV is to blame to a point. Death is not someone lucid, talking to relatives, then passing away with a smile on their face moments later. Active dying can take days, and then it is things like terminal agitation, secretions (the death rattle), all odd patterns of breathing, things like suddenly sitting up etc.

While that is unpleasant for the person sitting with the dying relative/friend, the person who is dying is unaware of those things happening, it is peaceful enough for them. I recently sat with my DF for several days as he was dying and I didn't find it so terrible, although admittedly I wasn't there when he actually died, but I found the whole thing far less stressful than I had imagined it to be. It was in fact a lot easier than what happened before, when he was delirious and thought everyone was his mother.

@EuphemiaLives - I am so very sorry for you and your family, what a terrible ordeal.

I never understand why we accept that putting beloved pets to sleep when they become too sick to have any quality of life is the best thing to do yet we expect people to be kept alive at all cost when it is obvious they are in pain/have no wish to live anymore...

Because people are not animals.

I'm really sorry - I can't imagine what you've been through.

Animals have more rights to a pain free death. Anyway you don't have to do it but if people want they should be able too. It's their life and body.
I wasn't passionate about legalisation until I began a career as a HCP. It's made me much more aware of my own mortality and how I want to die. I believe there's much worse things than death , I do not want to be kept alive longer with poor quality of life. I would like a quicker death and medics to be able to prescribe the right dosages. I had morphine and benzodiazepines while I was very unwell. I didn't feel scared it took the fear away and I would have been perfectly fine dying right then. Hopefully when my time comes they will be allowed to end my suffering quickly.

@Felixss

Animals have more rights to a pain free death. Anyway you don't have to do it but if people want they should be able too. It's their life and body.

Animals don't have any say in the matter, do they? And all the posters suggesting animals are respected more than humans when it comes to euthanasia - commonly, owners cannot afford whatever treatment the animal requires, so euthanasia is the better option; or the animal is reaching the end of its natural life anyway so there is little point to treatment; or the animal's quality of life would be poor after treatment, so euthanasia is kinder. These situations bear little resemblance to the human experience and this is why I have an issue with the lazy "we treat animals better" trope. We don't treat animals more kindly, and they aren't humans.

@GoldenAye actually your example of 'the animal is near the end of its life' bears a great deal of resemblance to the situation for humans, so you've shot yourself down in flames right there. When one is dying of cancer and in agony, 'near the end of life' captures the situation perfectly.

I don’t agree that people tend to put animals down because they can’t afford treatment. Sure some might, but the majority don’t. There are loads of threads on the Doghouse asking how will I know when it’s time to PTS. Most people are worried about prolonging the suffering of the animal because they can’t bear to part with them.

We absolutely do need it in the UK, it is inhumane the way we take away people's right to have a peaceful death, and prolong people's lives when they are often in pain and suffering and want to die.

Yeah the people who tend to do this are probably not likely to go on mumsnet doghouse tbh.

I do think we need a way for people to end their suffering, however I have great concerns about the effects this will have on the HCP's, who we are asking to do this. You are in effect asking someone trained to save a life and stop when it is futile to take someone's life. You are then asking them go about their day as tho nothing has happened.

Yes we see death and dying everyday but the emotional toll of taking a life would be far greater. Please remember when we talk about euthanasia we aren't talking about withdrawal of care or prescribing drugs we know will make X conditions worse and mean death comes sooner than if we didn't give the drug, you are asking someone to prescribe a lethal agent.

I think to start we need to go down a better pain management route even if that means bringing death forward.

Personally me and DH have our limits of what care we will accept, so when the time comes we will likely decide when we go. However I wouldn't ask a colleague to administer that, we will go when we are still capable and ready for it.

This is a good example of where your mother could have been relieved of her suffering if the laws are changed.

How are you going to go?

I would like it to be an option here. I am lucky to be living a full life, when my quality of life drops below being able to go to the toilet and feed myself independently then I want to go. My survival instinct may say otherwise but I would like to have made a conscious decision before that I don't want to exist in that form

Because people are not animals.

What do you think we are plants? Of course we are animals and we deserve not to suffer.

So are we plants, fungi, protist or monera? We ARE animals and we suffer in the same way.

The majority of people do not have their pet PTS because they don’t want to pay vet bills.
We should be given the choice. I’ve watched family members slowly die in pain from cancer. It is an awful way to go. Euthanasia should at the very least be on the table for terminally ill patients.