Tony Nicklinson

[3littlefrogs]

That poor, poor man. And his poor family.

It is so sad. I know I would not want to live if I was like him.

The photograph of him sobbing as the news was broken moved me to tears.

He could be facing another 30 plus years in that state.

Honestly - there are more humane laws in place to protect animals in this country.

It is sheer cruelty IMO.

i am suprised the campaign against keep on maintaining it is 'impossible' to do this with safeguards, when it is possible in other countries.

I don't know what happens in other countries Edgar.

Do you mean Dignitas in Switzerland? Or elsewhere?

I just think this court ruling is bizarre.

Switzerland and The Netherlands.

What happens in the Netherlands?

I don't think Mr Nicklinson has a hope in hell of travelling to Switzerland.

His family, or whoever helped him would be prosecuted on their return.

And why the hell should should someone who is in pain and suffering have to make a journey like that?

It is just beyond awful.

What really makes me angry is the fact that there is no problem with old people being killed off in hospital by wilful neglect.

Talk about double standards.

Other UK families have taken loved ones to die in Switzerland (Dignitas) & not been prosecuted upon return, that's not Nicklinson worry.
But it's very expensive and it would mean dying "in an industrial park" according to the family statement. He wants to die at home in a comfortable, familiar, safe-feeling environment:(

I feel for him. I watched a program about him & he said that if he got the go ahead it didnt mean he would want to end his life he just wants the choice like i or any other able bodied person have the choice. I can go out now & kill myself if i choose he cant. I dont think thats fair. Why doesnt he get the same choices?

It is on the news just now.

He is in tears. Poor soul.

it is very sad and I feel for him.
but I can understand why they can't change the law(and hope they don't)
we have to protect the vulnerable

I'm not sure Dignitas could help him - their rules are you must take the medicine yourself (to stay within Swiss law). He's paralysed and unable to grasp or swallow tablets, the poor man.

Awful, tragic case - and not a swift tragedy but one that could last decades. Unbearable. I understand why the courts have said this is an issue for parliament, but I wish the DPP could offer his family assurances that they won't be prosecuted if they help him to end his life. And that parliament would act. It is profoundly, terribly inhumane and discriminatory to force someone to endure decades of unimaginable torment because they are too disabled to commit suicide.

We do have to protect the vulnerable, but we also have to realise that the status quo leaves people like Tony Nicklinson suffering horribly.

I hope none of us, or our loved ones, are ever in his position. He is paying a high price for our inability (or unwillingness) to come up with good, humane legislation.

sadly a lot of doctors veiw disability in a very odd light, I would hate for them to be given any way of using a new law.
whilst dreadful for this man, their are a lot of people with out a "voice" who would be made very unsafe by any change in the law

This case has had me in tears. Not sure if this is the right place exactly but it's close to home for me and it feels right.

We lost my Dad to cancer last year. He spent a few weeks in a hospice and was looked after amazingly. As we neared the end my Darling Dad became distressed when conscious, kept asking to go home, very upset, awful to watch. Due to the mixture of drugs and a brain tumor he wasn't awake much, but when he was it was awful. Seeing my Dad cry to go home, to be allowed to die in the first house he and my Mother shared, where he raised his children and surrounded by us all was heartbreaking. The level of care he needed would be very difficult at home.

Eventually it was arranged, once he was home he was calm. In immense pain and massively drugged, but in his moments of lucidity he just repeated "I'm home" and "I love you." I cannot say how much it meant to us to have him there, for us and for him. It was an awful, undignified death, I see his last breath and watch him slip away most days as I have trouble coming to terms with it and remember it every day. The one thing that gets me through is that in the end, he had it his way. He was home. The one thing we could control in the whole sorry mess of it all.

Tony Nicklinson's fight is one I cannot believe he is not winning. To be lucid and aware, 24/7 and to not be given the chance to die at home surrounded by family grieves me greatly. To be trapped in a world of having such little control over yourself, to be unable to help yourself must be hell. To know he could have another 20 years must be torture for him and his family.

I cannot believe in this world of medicine, law and safeguarding we cannot find a way to let people like Tony do as they wish in their final moments. The photo his family have released of him finding out the news says more to me than any medical or legal opinion.

Sorry if that was long but I needed to get this out and this felt the most suitable place.

Those who think the law mustn't be changed because the vulnerable must be protected:

Do you think that vulnerable people in Switzerland & the Netherlands are unprotected and that there are actual cases of them being coerced into early deaths/suicides? If so, can you provide examples? If not, why not?

It's a heartbreaking case, and makes me so angry. Any able-bodied person can commit suicide: there's no law against it. But if you are severely disabled and can't kill yourself, you are not allowed to ask for help.

And I agree with 3littlefrogs. People die in hospital all the time because they are neglected. They also die because doctors and nurses make a choice not to give food and drink to people they know are going to die. They "play God" all the time. To try and make a grand ethical point by prolonging this poor man's life is sickening.

I really feel for him and am disgusted that the ruling hasn't gone in his favour. It is quite sickening that human beings get treated less humanely than animals. This ruling is cruel :(

Debeez, that is awful. So sorry for your loss

TN's alternative is starving himself to death. He can do that. He can get a film crew in to follow his progress. I wonder if it will take putting his family thru that, and a documentary being broadcast on TV, to get people to change their minds. :(

Why can't each case be considered on a case by case basis? If that happened I can't see how the vulnerable would be more at risk.

Deebeez I am so sorry for your loss. I know exactly what you mean by remembering every day.

I agree with BonnieBumble that a case by case basis would be the best solution. That would cover threesocks' concern about vulnerable people.

In the current system the vulnerable, particularly the elderly, are at risk because their are no enforceable standards in place.

A relative of mine was deliberately starved to death in hospital, despite the immediate family literally begging for the person to be given food and fluids.

This happens over and over again. You only have to pick up a newspaper to read about what currently happens to the elderly and disabled in NHS hospitals.

I think this is more about the state declaring its power than about any real understanding or compassion for individuals like Mr Nicklinson.

I really do not understand why Parliament cannot come up with some legislation that gives comfort and reassurance to individuals and families in this situation.

The current system seems to fail more people than it protects.

"People die in hospital all the time because they are neglected. They also die because doctors and nurses make a choice not to give food and drink to people they know are going to die. They "play God" all the time. "

i would also add: pain relief should not be restricted by the HCPs fear of prosecution.