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?

I believe people should have the choice, we don't let animals suffer, but this post above is what we would end up with. Especially on here;

Aibu to not want to euthanise? I love my family.

Yes you are, you are going to die anyway, save the taxpayer the hospital bill and end it now.

🤔

I’m the sort of person who rarely needs to see the GP, so it came as a shock recently to have to spend nearly 3 weeks in hospital (pneumonia and pleurisy) in sundry different wards, where I witnessed 2 elderly women with dementia, both evidently unable to get to the loo so both in incontinence pads, neither with a clue about anything.
I heard one being asked (very kindly) where she thought she was - ‘In my bedroom at home.’

I am no spring chicken so the experience has made me utterly dread anything like this sort of demented, incontinent old age - give me the lethal jab any day. And if it had been legal I’d have wanted it for my poor mother, who had approx 15 years of Alzheimer’s - from her very early 80s until she died at 97. And I can’t say that any of those years was anything like ‘happy’.

Never mind my own feelings, the thought of being a worry and a burden to dds appals me.

I don’t think we need to worry too much about following the Canadian way of doing things. They have some pretty bonkers ideas atm - here’s the school board endorsed woodwork teacher on insert -pronoun -here ‘s way to work .

We can probably work out a better system for ourselves on this one.

I agree , as my mum had parkinsons and the last 6 months were awful . The worst bit was in the hospital where basically they said she was end of life but then treated her so badly not giving her any care at all , lack of food and water and just watching when she choked. We got her out asap and luckily gave her some dignity for the last part of her life . She was ready to go and to see her so scared at the end was just heartbreaking . I think actually I disagree with the poster who said the government will do it for money as there have been countless petitions to have a sensible discussion and so far nothing has happened. It has to be handled extremely carefully with lots of safeguards but for some I think it is a better way out .

My mum died a lingering and upsetting death from colon cancer. I won't go into details but several times a week her body would develop fistulas out of which faecal matter would trickle all over her, the bed, the duvet, the linen... It was a horrible and for her a humiliating process. She wanted to die at home, thinking it would be quick. My sister and I nursed her for almost a year and she longed to die.

I want euthanasia introduced as soon as possible. I know there are far worse things than death.

My dog has better end of life options than I do. That is ridiculous. Provided it is the clear wish and intention of the individual, I fully support assisted dying.

This is general - not just to you - but can we stop using the phrase "put to sleep"? This is a euphemism for pet euthanasia, not the potential death of a person close to you. Even mentioning how animals are dealt with - positively or negatively - while discussing human euthanasia is somewhat distasteful.

I understand what you’re saying but I chose that language deliberately to highlight that as a society we don’t let our pets suffer, but we do let people suffer.

That is the truth and it’s cruel and absurd and totally illogical.

One of the many reasons I left nursing was the sudden fear of medics to prescribe palliative medication. One of my last shifts I had to listen to a dying man screaming out in pain for 8 hours. I rang everyone, from junior doctors to consultants, palliative care to management. No one was willing to prescribe more painkillers and I was already regularly giving morphine. If I close my eyes I can picture his face and hear those screams.
About 2 months after I left my neighbours dog got sick and was put down. He was peaceful and our neighbour was allowed to cuddle him.

I've seen 3 members of my family die excruciatingly because they had terminal illnesses which not just affected them, but the whole family, as they clung to life awaiting the inevitable.

having seen the damage dementia causes I'd rather die than put my family through that.

Doesn't matter really what controls you initially put on it after a few years it becomes more acceptable and gradually the criteria and controls move and it becomes easier to get. Over time the controls will largely go as we become more accepting.

There is an Australian podcast that's worth a listen on this subject for those who are interested. It's a few years old now (2016 I think), but there are some more recent episodes. www.wheelercentre.com/wlr-articles/better-off-dead/

Euthanasia should absolutely be an option in this country. It’s not a question of if, but when it comes into law. Sooner rather than later.

Quality of life is greater than quantity of life

Absolutely agree

I hope this will be an option in the UK soon.

I've often wondered about the actual mechanics of how Dignitas and the Netherlands do it and what the difference is between that and how the death penalty is administered (when they do it properly).

I strongly suspect the death isn't easy however it's done and noone is able to tell us.

I watched 2 parents have slow, painful deaths. Would they have preferred euthanasia? Who knows.

But I can't fathom a society where animals are 'put out of their misery' while humans die quiet hideous slow, incredibly painful deaths, and their families can only sit and watch.

The controls won’t ‘largely go’ like they haven’t largely gone with abortion or prescribing large doses of opioids.

If it becomes easier to get and more acceptable then good - that means I won’t have to suffer the horrific painful prolonged dying I’ve seen happen to others.

Absolutely. A life in chronic pain is no life.

Who says we need to use the Canadian model? Better ones are available.

My grandmother had an assisted suicide in the Netherlands in 2006. There was no pressure, she was 100% capable of making the decision, it saved her months of ever increasing pain. This isn't a zero sum game - we need to have euthanasia alongside excellent hospice care.

I do think we need euthanasia here. Absolutely.
Yes there needs to be legal safeguards but it should be available to those who can clearly express what they want. I'm mid 50s and always assumed that this would be in place by the time I am old. I genuinely want to be able to say "that's it, ive had a good life its time to say goodbye". Affairs in order, everyone kissed.

This. My father had an utterly horrific death. I will never,ever forget it. He wanted to die, we were at peace with that but the medical process of dying from Parkinsons is long and slow and very painful. In the end there was a skeleton in the bed with medical professionals panicking over Bank Holiday weekend, that his morphine must be topped up so he couldn't wake up. If he wasn't allowed to ever wake up then just bloody overdose him and end it. It was torture,utter torture. My dog was put to sleep the month before. Quiet,calm,dignified and beautiful. An appropriate death for a beautiful animal. My father wasn't afforded that.

That's so sad and it needs reforming asap. My nan died quickly after returning home a few hours that's all it took. I think they turned up the syringe driver to the maximum and I'm grateful they did. They don't let animals suffer so why should humans ☹️. I think some are more willing to prescribe the large quantities and others aren't.

There are a number of good documentaries on Dignitas..the Terry Pratchett one is on YouTube and shows a really close up view of the actual process. I teach this topic to 6th form and the vast vast majority this m it should be legalised. There will be many questions over the qualifying parameters..terminal illness only? People who don't want to live as a quadraplegic (23 yo rugby player who went to Dignitas 18 months after a scrum collapsed)? Degenerative illness like MS? Dementia, with advance directives in place? And of course mental illness. In the C4 dic that Prue Leith did recently, there was a man in his 80s in decent physical health but who had suffered from chronic depression all his life. He wanted to end it. He was perfectly lucid, rational, his wife supported him. It's an ethical question about autonomy at that point. On top of that you then have the safeguarding concerns of pressure from relatives keen to guard their inheritance or stressed out medical staff managing beds in an overcrowded social care system but just because something is difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.

With dignitas you take an oral anti emetic and then 15 minutes later take some powdered pentobarbital mixed with water. Death results in 5-10 minutes. I don’t think death is ever easy but at least it’s quick and by choice. I’d much rather that than a slow lingering painful time.

Yes, I want it. You do not have to take up the possibility, so it needn't affect you. Why deny it to others?

I have watched a parent and 3 grandparents die hideously from cancer. You would not do that to an animal. I certainly do not want to go through what they did and would appreciate never having to witness it again.