Assisted Dying

[Nordione1]

I dont know what section to put this in. Im more upset about the vote for it than I thought I'd be. I feel like we have crossed a rubicon somehow.

The bill won't help people with dementia. You have to have a terminal diagnosis with 6 months or less to live.

I agree. Already being sugar coated as assisted dying. It's suicide.

Exactly my thoughts, I have the deepest sympathy for those with reasons to vote for it and I am lucky I/my family have never been in a situation where we felt it was needed, but overall it just doesn't sit right with me.

I don't see how it can work within the NHS where everything has long waiting lists. It sounds very time consuming and most GPs I know have no interest in this. It's a medico legal minefield. Most palliative care and geriatric docs also have more than enough work. It will need to be a speciality in its own right and will end up with a waiting list

No definitely not. You would need capacity although in some countries, mentally ill people have started to be offered assisted suicide. I hope this doesn't happen here. Although perhaps those arguing for choice might disagree (that's not me making a point by the way. I definitely think this is an issue where people decide for themselves what they think about this).

Sorry… I think we are at cross purposes. At present the state can keep me alive against my will, and DNR instructions are not always adhered to. A change in the law will mean we can chose to end our lives in a way that causes least distress to the individual and the family, if we chose, subject obviously to some safeguards. And that’s a very good thing.

Sometimes suicide is a kindness someone takes upon themselves. If someone has proper mental capacity and is told they have 3 months left to live and every minute of those 3 months is going to be in pain, and only getting worse then no one should be forced to live through it.
Your choice might not be the same as mine and you might want to live and I fully support your choice but you should be supporting mine too.

They need to put the money into palliative care. People do not need to die in pain, they need a good death. People choosing assisted dying through fear of a bad death is a shocking response to a shameful lack of investment in end of life care.

It says that people could be in charge of their own end of life decisions. This includes disabled people (of whom I am one) choosing to live and not wishing to have assisted dying, which is fine.

I would like the option to have on record that should I suffer from dementia then I would like my life to end when it reaches a certain level. If I have no or poor quality of life I do not want to be kept alive against my will.

I think that we should all have choice and control over the end of our lives. I watched this extremely powerful documentary this week which made me even more certain that no one should be forced to lose dignity and suffer when they die

https://www.itv.com/watch/a-time-to-die/10a3960

There are some conditions (such as MND) where a peaceful and dignified death just isn’t always possible, and that’s when the choice to go under your own terms and peacefully is so important. having to make a decision to try to take your own life (which may or may not be successful) and then withdraw treatment and die in pain is just an awful choice that some people are having to make.

My dad died from cancer in a hospice - the care was fantastic and his death was well managed. I don’t think he would have chosen a different way to go if things had been different - but the key for me is choice. The government must ensure they continue to prioritise investment in palliative care and make assisted dying a totally separate alternative for people who want that choice

Not to mention the potential repercussions if you attempt it but don’t quite manage it. I knew someone who tried to hang themselves but were found just before they died. They were resuscitated but died a few months later with severe brain damage.

I would choose assisted dying if my quality of life was poor - nothing to do with the level, availability or quality of palliative care. If I’m not able to look after myself and be independent, I’d like the right to die if I want to.

It’s a start, but doesn’t go far enough. There are many people with chronic, disabling conditions, like motor neurone disease and Huntington’s disease, who have not been given a six month diagnosis, but who dread deteriorating for years, and want control over their lives. It’s vital to have proper safeguards in place to protect the vulnerable, and it’ll take time, but in a few years I can see assisted dying being extended to these groups.

I’d prefer assisted dying and shit care to no assisted dying and shit care. And to be honest, even if all hospice care was top notch, plenty of people would still prefer to choose the time and manner of their death. They should have that right, without needing to resort to overseas travel or potentially harrowing and painful suicide methods.

I will fight to the death for the right of people who want to live as long as they are able to before death in comfort and dignity - why can’t I have the same support to die with dignity in the way I choose?

I had my old dog put to sleep last week. I chose when and the vet visited after a consultation. She was given a mild sedative to relax her, then when she slept, anaesthetic was administered so she wasn't in any pain and then the final drug.

She really just fell fast asleep in my arms with the sun shining on her face. No pain. No fear. No anxiety. No suffering.

I watched my poor, brave mother suffer terribly for 2 days. She had never been in favour of assisted dying but those last two days she begged us to end her suffering. I'll never know whether she would have chosen assisted dying had it been an option but I certainly would for me. I don't want my children to have to ever watch that again. My mother was given the highest doses of sedative but she died in pain and was very troubled.

My late sister, a cancer patient also didn't die a peaceful death.

There's a limit to palliative care and not everyone has a good death.

And so it begins ...

I'm very happy. I know there is an option of a pain free death now, if myself or a loved one has a terminal illness. The option is there, doesn't mean we have to use it. It's about choice.
Monumental day.

Absolutely, I always feel like the ‘good death’/hospice argument is a bit like saying ‘we’ll make abortion illegal but it’s ok because you can have a c-section to deliver so it won’t hurt’ - it doesn’t take away the fact that the individual’s right to decide what happens to their own body is being taken from them.

I think it's a great step forward. I think people who are upset by it need to examine where that's coming from.. obviously there are some legitimate concerns regarding safeguarding.. but if the entire concept of it bothers you in principle.. think you need to think about why you feel you should have a say over how other people choose to die? I think some people have an initial emotional reaction which is related to a Christian upbringing.. however if they logically think it through they may feel better about it.
I was raised Catholic so the first time I heard about it I did have an extremely negative reaction.. and I did have to go away abd think about what it really meant.

Dementia is an area where this won't apply though as you need capacity and no doctor will want to force an elderly person to take something they don't want to when they don't understand it whatever they signed 5 years ago when they had capacity. For dementia you are better doing a living will and telling your relatives that if you get dementia you don't want antibiotics if you get a chest infection as that sort of treatment is what prolongs the life of people with dementia.

that's not right nor is it proper use of the LCP.

It’s not all about pain, though, it’s about quality of life too. Some people don’t want to be locked in a body that does work any more, fear years deteriorating and want the choice to end their lives on their own terms.

Unfortunately, though it's only if you've got terminal illness, they may say that isn't terminal, and you have got more than 6 months to live. Which is upsetting

This can't as she put terminal illness act so unless they change the wording they can't it woukd have to be another act . But what's the problem is heard a lady who's mum had motor neurone and her jaw locked open before she died it sounded very traumatic.