To think voting for assisted dying legalisation could be a huge mistake???

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In Scotland they are voting to legalise assisted dying. Looking likely to pass. I am worried this will come to England now. Kier is already proving he doesn't care about old and disabled people so this scares me.
Obviously there are 2 sides but how can people be so ignorant? If passed this could be one of the biggest opportunity for corrupt evil behaviour of saving money on the NHS, care, people literally getting away murder, playing god! No not good. It's so scary.

Canada also has an entirely different system @OneQuirkyPanda, as as far as I know assisted dying there was brought in by the courts, rather than by legislators.

MH and depression wasn't included in Canda either when the law passed, but it's crept in now.

The sooner it becomes law the better. I’ve watched a relative die a horrid, painful, and drawn out death. No amount of compassion, kind nurses or increased morphine made it better. They wanted to die.

Autonomy is everything. I think we will look back in 30 years and wonder how we ever didn’t allow people the right to a dignified death. Much like abortion and homosexuality. To not allow people choices is totally primitive and regressive.

This!

I understand the concerns but on the whole I’m for it, it just needs very strong safeguards- like only allowed for certain conditions, several different health professionals to approve etc

There was an interesting documentary on a couple of days ago, I can't remember the channel but they looked at the US and Canada and the processes they use. It is on catch up.

If you watched the debate in Scotland last night, you would have seen an MSP talk about how her 58 year old mother starved herself to death after being diagnosed with terminal, stage 4 lung cancer. She spoke about how her mum took the decision in secret, and took two weeks to die. the idea of that is just horrific. but that’s what we are condemning some people to if we don’t have some kind of assisted dying.

I am in favour of it. I’ve known relatives who have had long drawn out illnesses and the last few months have been horrendous.

Lots of diseases do have awful ends despite the best efforts of modern medicine. Doctors are often slow (I think) to put in a syringe driver as can hasten death which can leave people in uncontrolled pain, the symptoms can be awful. I had a colleague whose wife died of cancer, she wasted away over months was skeletal by the end. The family found it incredibly traumatic as you “wouldn’t treat a dog like that”.

I think allowing people to choose the manner of their death when terminally ill is a compassionate thing to do. Even in places that allow euthanasia it’s a very small proportion of deaths predominantly those with terminal cancer.

I live in Scotland and I welcome it. The suffering people have to endure at end of life is inhumane.
I work in veterinary and have assisted in thousands of euthanasias, it really is a lovely, swift, painfree peaceful end.
No need to worry about people with depression, the bill relates to the terminally ill only.

I think if you think a comparison with animals is in anyway appropriate, you don't understand, at all.

We don't ask the animals to choose, so theres no possibility of undue influence. We don't have animals who understand that them continuing to live is costing money (the state or their children's inheritance), animals don't understand how stressful caring for them in their final months is. For me there is huge potential for these decisions to be taken for all the wrong reasons.

Having recently watched my close friend die a slow painful death with her brain ravaged by cancer and all her faculties stop working, i’m all for it. In that last week we all prayed for the end. If that had been her beloved dog, we would have ended his suffering weeks prior. Why do people want humans to last until the bitter end? Anyone who has watched a loved one die a slow painful death will get it.

They need to campaign for watertight restrictions and strict controls rather than stopping it

I'm really surprised that the votes are tipped in favour of assisted dying.

I used to be in favour but seeing the discussions of the England bill play out I'm very concerned.

Yes, my mother had COPD struggling to breathe, arthritis everywhere, heart problems for 20 years. Given the chance she would have had assisted dying when she was early eighties.

She died at 97 gasping for breath begging for an injection to help her die.
The was on an NHS care of the elderly ward, the nursing care was appalling. There were 6 beds squashed into a 4 bedded room, no privacy and just about enough room for one visitor to stand.
She was supposed to be put on end of life care but there had to be 2 doctors to agree (although she'd filled in all the forms)and so it took a week because the drs were too busy.
I finally made a scene at the nurses desk and insisted she have the midazolam injection that was part of the EOL care. Such a relief to see her relax and breathing ease. She kissed us, all settled down comfortably and went to sleep. she died 2 hours later.

Sorry OP, I completely disagree. It gives (or will give, if it comes in) a huge amount of comfort that should I ever find myself in that situation, I can chose to die with dignity.

On a purely selfish level, I believe that my life is my own to choose what I want to do with it. The idea of dying in pain or being stuck in a care home, sat in my own waste until someone cleans me up is abhorrent to me. I’d far rather have the right to end my life when I see fit.

The NHS is dreadful at end of life care and not everyone is lucky enough to get a hospice place to end their days.

I’ve watched several family members and friends die over the last few years and not a single one of them had a good death. My dog on the other hand had a lovely walk, was fed his favourite foods and was then put to sleep quietly and peacefully in my arms. I know which I’d prefer.

My mum has a degenerative disease and she has made her wishes clear to me about what she wants. I’d very much be able to legally give her that choice.

The person I know has an illness with no cure. They are going to die. They are in terrible pain or they are drugged up to cope with the pain. They can no longer talk to anyone, they are trapped inside their own body waiting for death while their loved ones watch. Is that a state you would want for yourself?

The sooner we allow people who are suffering the later stages of terminal disease the better. For many people the last few days, weeks or even months can be deeply unpleasant and I would not want this to happen to me or anyone else I can about again.

The NHS is dreadful at end of life care and not everyone is lucky enough to get a hospice place to end their days.

Surely that's what needs to change and where the campaigning should be? Assisted dying will be hugely expensive too.

I’d love it passed here. It’s a disgrace that it isn’t and religion should never come into it

OP, I disagree with you. If you don’t want assisted dying you will not be forced to have it. You will still have a choice. I want a choice too. I hope it comes into law and I hope it will be expanded. I want a way out when life gets too painful. Sometimes even with the best palliative care people still have to endure pain for weeks.

I’m in favour of assisted dying, with the required checks and balances.

But the SNP being the ones to handle this gives me the absolute fear…

Our legal process is too slow and expensive for that to ever be possible. If a terminal person wants to die within a reasonable time frame, corners need to be cut.

Im in favour of assisted dying but not this bill as safeguards have been eroded and eroded & Ledbetter does not seem
to be on top of the brief eg only on Monday did she say that palliative care needs to be looked at after an eleventh hour meeting with Marie curie as if the fact that palliative and social care in this country aren’t an absolute bin fire of under funding and ever increasing demand was some kind of secret

This seems to be a classic case of ‘we need to do something about assisted dying, this is something so let’s do this’ rather than ‘this is a huge legal change with massive implications so let’s take our time to do it properly’