Assisted dying debate next week… To think this is a relief. So glad they’re finally debating this important issue.

[Mavenss]

We will be able to see which MPs are for or against assisted dying.

This Monday 29th April, assisted dying will be debated in Westminster for the first time in two years. An absolutely incredible 203,000 people added their name to the government petitionspearheaded by Dame Esther Rantzen to make this happen, creating the largest ever parliamentary petition on assisted dying.

There will not be a vote on Monday, but this debate will be the last time before the General Election that MPs have an opportunity to show you that they are listening to our calls for safe and compassionate choice at the end of life. A majority of voters in every constituency support an assisted dying law.

The debate starts at 4:30pmand you can watch it live online through the UK parliament website.

YABU- it’s a silly idea, why are government even debating it? Assisted dying is a terrible idea.

YANBU - I support the debate and assisted dying (under the agreed circumstances)

I’m interested in the MN feedback here.

Once upon a time I would have agreed with you;however, I’ve seen what’s happening in Canada and it’s truly horrendous. It didn’t start out that way, it’s a slow creep.

YANBU.

Good. Having watched my dad and my nan die awful deaths in hospital after appalling end of life care, I’d like to hope that when my time comes I will be able to leave this earth on my own terms.

I would worry that the safeguards for the vulnerable were not stringent enough.

Exactly this. It's scary.

The way my mum suffered recently before shoe died of cancer, even with palliative care has made me support this. If I could have filmed her absolute suffering in the last few months and showed people they would certainly support this.
it needs to be an option when there is no hope, not forcing people to live every last minute of a life of pain knowing it is leading to death anyway.
i will do all I can to support

I don't think you are genuinely interested in my opinion.

@solgrass can I be cheeky and ask for a link to what you're referring to? I know about MAOD but I thought there were strict criteria, if you've anything about how it's become less stringent over time I'd be interested to see it

My concern as that there is a growing number of people advocating for euthanasia for mental health conditions. These are not terminal and shouldn't be included but once they are then people can opt for that while we still have a piss poor mental health service

Whilst assisted dying i. Canada has increased in numbers, only a small proportion of them (around 400 cases, population 40 million) were around chronic illness. That should not seem excessive to anyone. The vast majority were terminal or incurable Illness, I don’t think anyone can say that people should not have a choice to be able to die as and when they wish in that instance.

What is happening in Canada?

I think a lot of people think assisted dying will allow them to avoid a long, drawn out miserable death. The reality is that people have bad deaths because we prolong life for far too long instead of withdrawing treatment and allowing for a dignified death. By the time dementia is advanced people do not have the capacity to consent to assisted dying.

@Happinessischeeseontoast

The types of cases it’s being used for, utterly shocking:

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/11/canada-cases-right-to-die-laws

Thankfully, there is a pause on future expansion. This article also explains how MAID developed. At first it was only for the terminally ill. That changed and now we have poor people killing themselves signed off by the State.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/25/canada-assisted-dying-laws-in-spotlight-as-expansion-paused-again

Another case:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/woman-with-chemical-sensitivities-chose-medically-assisted-death-after-failed-bid-to-get-better-housing-1.5860579

It feels like already with comments above (thank you 🤗), the main issues are highlighted.

There’s a concern that if implemented such a rule would diverge and become something it wasn’t meant be (as in Canada?).

Then there are many people who either have direct experience of loved ones dying an unnecessarily horrific prolonged death, or themselves / loved ones having such an illness quality of life that is extremely low now or in future e.g. locked in syndrome neurological disorders meaning eg. loss of bodily function control, permanent care required, dementia etc. People want control of their own life and death.

In my own experience (loved one with neurological disorder meaning deterioration of body and mind, no quality of life), people who have direct experience of such traumas want controlled assisted dying laws in the U.K..

Yes I agree with that. I think they come together.

But surely if it was strictly for terminally I'll people with no expansion that would be ok? I can't see how anyone thinks someone should suffer for weeks or months with a terminal illness if they would rather end it without pain.

About assisted dying? I asked, I am.

Me too.

It looks like it’s the management of the law / rules that have got out of hand. I wonder if they’ve got any ‘lessons learnt’ for other countries considering it?

I have direct experience of such trauma OP. That’s why until relatively recently I would have agreed with you. A relative died a slow death from lung cancer that spread throughout the body, including the brain. Their death was deeply traumatic. The thought of it now is still very painful to think about.

Yet, I’ve seen how this plays out and I just can’t agree to it.

That hurts because I don’t want to see those terminally ill to suffer but I don’t think we can guarantee this wouldn’t morph into something insidious.

I'd like to ask the people who are against assisted dying are you also against assisted killing? What have you done to encourage the government into banning arms manufacturing in this country? What have you done to stop aid money being used to buy weapons? What have you done to stop businesses and activities from polluting our air, water and food chain?

I watched my Dad die from liver cancer, and I'm still traumatised by his last 2 weeks of life, in fact I don't think that they'll ever leave me. Even with the best palliative care (under the direct care of the Consultant), his death was brutal. The syringe driver only gave him some level of mercy in the last 12 hours because his liver wasn't metabolising the drugs. He was screaming, trying to sit up and get out of bed, and I just had to sit and watch the horror unfold while Doctors desperately tried to find a medication that would work.

It is absolutely heinous that we make people suffer such awful deaths because of the fear of a rogue few who will take advantage of the system.

YANBU, I am in full support of assisted dying. We treat our pets better than we do people at the end of life. And pets don't ask us to help them, yet we ignore the pleas of people who do.

I used to be very pro OP and have had awful experiences of relatives suffering at the end. But now seeing how much services are stretched and how little is done to improve quality of life for those still with us I can’t help thinking it’s going to be massively abused. I just don’t know how you can have safeguards that will definitely work.

I support assisted dying.
I may never want or need to use it, but I feel it would bring me enormous comfort that the option was there if pain became unbearable. I know opponents will say we have sufficient palliative care options, but my personal experience of watching several elderly relatives in their last few months was not a positive experience of pain relieving drugs or their reluctant administration by HCP.