Why do we put animals out of their misery but let humans suffer?

[Freshton]

A relative is currently dying a slow and horrible death from terminal cancer. In palliative phase and last few days now as can't swallow or take any liquids.

It's truly opened my eyes. I had no idea how medieval things were still when it comes to death. I've been truly horrified at what people are expected to endure in their final weeks and what their relatives have to witness.

I can't understand why we put animals to sleep to spare them suffering but humans still have to deal with this slow and undignified end.

I've never been much in favour of assisted dying as not had to think about it but after seeing what I've seen, I really hope something can change. I'll be haunted for the rest of my life by what I've seen in last few weeks.

That's lovely. For you. That's your choice. But others don't want this. Do you think your opinion is so important that it should overrule mine and take my choice away from me?

Me. I'm happy to euthanize myself. Just give me the tools and the legal framework to do it.

As it stands it's even illegal to support a loved in going overseas to do it. You can't book a flight, travel with them or publicly wave them off. It's a fucking disgrace.

Likewise. I'd happily do it myself.

They are absolutely comparable. We are talking about choice. It doesn't matter whether the consent is given by an owner (in a pet's case) or by the patient (in a human case). It is about having the choice to end a life before it becomes unbearable.

Why do you feel you have the right to take that choice away from me?

For those who are claiming we don't need it in the UK and we can just go abroad, this is a very difficult listen but the tragic truth about our disgraceful laws here in the UK.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0n69ljf

That's lovely. For you. That's your choice. But others don't want this. Do you think your opinion is so important that it should overrule mine and take my choice away from me?

💯
@Teresa3349 You have autonomy and so should others. Just because you disagree with assisted suicide doesn’t mean you have the right to decide what others want.

People should absolutely have the choice. The current system where people are forced to live way beyond the point where they have any quality if life is awful and needs addressing. We are an aging population so this is what's ahead for many of us.

The thought of being able to choose AD without having to travel abroad would be a great comfort to me and many others.

The thought of being able to choose AD without having to travel abroad would be a great comfort to me and many others.

I agree.
I know that if someone goes to dignitas then anyone who accompanied them may face consequences. However how would the police - or whichever authority is responsible - find out who accompanied them?

I didn't "witness" my parents deaths, nor did I keep a "vigil".

I keot my parents company, and tried to make sure they were as comfortable and soothed as possible during what was a scary time for them. It was an honour to be able to hold them and sing to them as they passed away.

My parents were very vocal about when they didn't want to live, the cut-off point, and both lived beyond that. Comparing honouring their decision to putting down a sick animal is ridiculous.

To be able to honour their wishes would have undoubtedly have resulted in a much more peaceful passing for both of them.

Threads like this are so similar.

I'm pro assisted dying and if you aren't you obviously want to see people suffer and die in agony.

I'm against assisted dying and if you aren't you obviously don't care about vulnerable and disabled people.

There is no space for nuance or gray, and no one changes anyone's mind, everyone just becomes more entrenched in their position.

I would love to discuss this topic, but I don't know how to get past the above.

But there's a difference between terminally I'll people and those who are disabled but not dying

what did your relative want? express? Whether you found it difficult or not is not relevant.

My aunt is a vet and she puts down her pets as soon as they have slightly dodgy hips, or wet their beds routinely with age. Not sure you can make any useful comparison between the dignity of man and the treatment of pets.

My mother had a miserable last year in very many ways but she NEVER expressed any desire to give up, cut things short and we were with her to the absolute end. It was a time of great love and support. In fact she was terrified of the hospice as on one visit (multiple hospice visits!) they tried to persuade her to go somewhere she didn't want to rather than come back home (coercion; trying to persuade her she was a burden), and if we weren't around, they were crap about feeding her. I hated the hospice - evil place. She never wanted to go early and to the end she continued to look forward to seeing her family and friends.

Assisted dying is not necessarily the peaceful choice people think it is - this is something well known. Conversely, most deaths do not involve terrible pain, or the pain can be well managed. I have friends who have managed to resolve their depression but say 15 years ago they would have gone for assisted dying as they offer in NL and Canada. They are horrified it is an option there, over the right kind of support and treatment (because economically that would be too expensive).

Finally, given the government we have today, would you really trust them to properly administer such a scheme?

Yes I wholly agree this cannot be compared to putting an animal to sleep.
The OP should never have compared the two.

I used the word witness as that was the word used in the question asked of me. I have witnessed last breaths.

I do think that sitting with a dying relative is a vigil of sorts. The word vigil to me has a spiritual meaning where you’re seeing a loved one over the threshold of life on earth to another state of being in death. I am sorry if my use of the word offends you.

I personally do not want any company when I die. That much is true.

No I don’t trust the safeguards. The ones in the bill are watered down. In addition, every other country that has legalised it has end up coercing the most vulnerable into a death they did not want. Wheelchair users refused a hoist but offered assisted dying.

People will be murdered. The question is whether cutting short the life of people who are going to die anyway on demand worth the sacrifice of killing other people who want palliative care instead of a quick death? It’s not about suffering at all the suffering is caused by bad palliative care. We should be focussing on better palliative care to stop end of life suffering, not ending lives sooner.

I think we find it very difficult to talk about death in the UK. I support assisted dying and was really upset to see that it held up in the lords in a very undemocratic way.

My Dad had an absolutely awful death it was traumatic watching the way he died and I don’t think me, my mum or sister will ever get past it. The last two days were so horrific it was like watching someone being tortured. I think this debate is difficult as lots of people have never had to watch someone die in such an awful way but the people who have it is hard to get past and understand why anyone would put someone through that. My dad had fantastic nurses and doctors and had pain medication and none of it touched the sides.

In every poll about this issue the public support assisted dying and that should be respected.

I 100% agree with you op. I get the arguments against it such as misuse, but even considering that, every part of me hopes so much it’s allowed here one day.

I can't understand why we put animals to sleep to spare them suffering but humans still have to deal with this slow and undignified end.

Because we own animals and we don't own humans.

But, I sort of believe this because, oftentimes, the animals suffering (or perceived suffering) is hard for the human to understand or deal with, so death seems like a mercy for the animal and themselves.

So, it's not really weird.

My dog's euthanasia was similarly bungled. It was absolutely horrendous. HOWEVER, it took half an hour, not days/weeks/months. We already left it 2 days too late, 2 days she no longer really had quality of life. I feel FAR more guilty about those 2 days than the horrible death.

Do we not own ourselves? I like to think I do.

Even when humans have expressed their desire to die with dignity.
That is the real cruelty here.

I think our status is closer to “unowned” than “self-owned”. Anyway, I was just trying to give an answer to the question as posed. I want to be able to decide for myself, but that’s a lot simpler than codifying this into law for everyone.

What if the patient wants to hurry the process along?

The objections raised by the opponents of assisted dying remind me of those who disagree fundamentally with the right to abortion. If you don't agree with abortion, then don't have one. If you don't agree with an assisted death, don't have one. Don't take the option away from people who do desperately want these medical procedures.

What is it to die with dignity? And why is it that assisted dying proponents seem to think the only way to die with dignity is to essentially sign up for or allow a proxy to execute them by overdose of the exact same drugs used in countries with the death penalty to execute criminals.

I cannot for one second think refusing lethal drugs used in the execution of criminals is a cruelty or the only way to die with dignity.

You don't have to use it.
But people who would like to help a bit of help at the end absolutely deserve that right. It takes nothing away from you for them to do so.