I don't think its as simple as "legalising euthanasia" and then anybody can kill themselves. Stringent processes and determints will need to also be incorporated. Let's be honest - it's not as if people are flying over to backwards, third world countries to end their lives - they are going to places like Switzerland and Belgium (it's legal in some US states as well) which on the whole are considered to be modern and respected nations.
I don't think its as simple as "legalising euthanasia" and then anybody can kill themselves. Stringent processes and determints will need to also be incorporated. Let's be honest - it's not as if people are flying over to backwards, third world countries to end their lives - they are going to places like Switzerland and Belgium (it's legal in some US states as well) which on the whole are considered to be modern and respected nations.
Interesting that the clinc said that in all the years of operating they had seen around 150 people from the UK. So not sure we would all of a sudden see a flood of people queuing up to use the service if it was available here.
They quoted yearly figures for the clinc but cant recall the exact figure.
Speaking as someone who's father's recently been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer, I couldn't bring myself to watch it.
To a degree, I've kind of got my head round the fact he may not have too long left but the thought of seeing him wasting away is hard to take.
Mate having been through a terminally ill cancer with my dad, it is a horrible horrible thing to face up to but you do need to, good luck and i wish for you all the best because it changed my life, and not for the best in every way
i hope you find hope where sometimes yu feel there is little, chin up be strong and tell them everything that you need, clear the air, tell them the truth, but never miss a chnace to tell them because when the time has gone you wont get a 2nd chance.
i feel for you not a nice time
Cheers fella. I'm lucky in the respect that I've always had a great relationship with him and will never look back and say "I wish we'd done this, that" etc. My only regret is that he won't get to see my daughter (his only grand kid) grow up but sh*t happens.
He's not actually terminal yet but they've told him that the treatment he starts on Thursday can only contain it and it will come back.
its horrible mate my dad longed for a little girl and got 2 boys then he doted on my son and then came along my little princess gutts me eveytime knowing that he will never see her.
i had a lot too make up and clear up and we did do most of it theres still so much i needed to say that i never and thats a tough thing to deal with, it dont seem right to wish you luck but i do wish you all the good luck you can get
Interesting that the clinc said that in all the years of operating they had seen around 150 people from the UK. So not sure we would all of a sudden see a flood of people queuing up to use the service if it was available here. They quoted yearly figures for the clinc but cant recall the exact figure.
Around 200 people per year I believe, many of them Swiss hence they get the choice of passing away in their homes surrounded by their loved ones. Something denied to ourselves in most cases.
Lets be honest here, no one is going to change their mind about such a complex subject overnight or because of a BBC documentary seen by a relatively small % of the population. All of us have had our views shaped by a lifetime of experiences, policitical or religous leanings, etc, etc. Len believes for instance that legalising the right to chose our time of death would lead to the exploitation of vulnerable people. I believe, and the experience elsewhere seems to support this view, that it wouldn't lead to situation where the elderly are being dragged into clinics by greedy releatives.
Doesn't make me right or Len wrong but IMHO it's important that we as a society start to discuss and address these issues. With an ageing population and finite resources and finances how are we going to make sure that everyone gets the best quality of life possible right up to the last minute and not just the rich or those prepared to leave their families facing huge debts for their care? It's certainly not happening now is it and is only likely to get worse.
I believe that we will see this adopted by the UK within the next 20 years and that gives me great comfort that I (hopefully anyway) will have this option in the future should I need it.
For anyone supposedly "pro-life" and against those having the choice to end their own. What sort of life is it when someone can't even care for themselves, literally can't do anything but maybe make some sort of communication by moving their heads? Is that life? If so I certainly wouldn't want to live it
And what of the families and friends who have to give up work to care for those sick friends and relatives? In the end it drags everyone down and the whole point should be quality of life. I think the most sensible people (me included) would rather go peacefully and not have the pain and suffering both for yourself and your loved ones.
Len. I can assure you that from first hand experience gained every day at my work there is no palliative care that can offer dignity right up until the point of death. Yes pain can be controlled and provide a better journey to the final moments but as death gets closer the amounts of pain relief required push the sufferer to be nothing more than a bed ridden shadow of themselves unable to participate in any aspect of their care and death when it comes is an undignified relief not only the sufferer but for all their loved ones. Nothing will convince me that properly regulated a choice of when and how you die is a human right and should not be denied.
Speaking as someone who's father's recently been diagnosed with incurable brain cancer, I couldn't bring myself to watch it.
To a degree, I've kind of got my head round the fact he may not have too long left but the thought of seeing him wasting away is hard to take.
Mate having been through a terminally ill cancer with my dad, it is a horrible horrible thing to face up to but you do need to, good luck and i wish for you all the best because it changed my life, and not for the best in every way
i hope you find hope where sometimes yu feel there is little, chin up be strong and tell them everything that you need, clear the air, tell them the truth, but never miss a chnace to tell them because when the time has gone you wont get a 2nd chance.
i feel for you not a nice time
Cheers fella. I'm lucky in the respect that I've always had a great relationship with him and will never look back and say "I wish we'd done this, that" etc. My only regret is that he won't get to see my daughter (his only grand kid) grow up but sh*t happens.
He's not actually terminal yet but they've told him that the treatment he starts on Thursday can only contain it and it will come back.
its horrible mate my dad longed for a little girl and got 2 boys then he doted on my son and then came along my little princess gutts me eveytime knowing that he will never see her.
i had a lot too make up and clear up and we did do most of it theres still so much i needed to say that i never and thats a tough thing to deal with, it dont seem right to wish you luck but i do wish you all the good luck you can get
RIP. Great author and also a pretty decent bloke. A guy I used to work with was visually impaired and becoming progressively more so, and went to the 2012 Discworld Convention with his guide dog. He met Terry Pratchett in the bar, they got chatting, and Sir Terry arranged for him to get the entire collection of Discworld books in unabridged audiobook format.
One of my favourite authors. Still have a first edition of The Colour of Magic that I picked up from a boot fair for 50p a few years back. God knows how much it would be worth if it was in perfect nick - it's even got the original errata sticker in it which apparently would have made it worth a small fortune.
Loved his books - even after they started to get less funny and more cynical as he got older. Mort and Reaper Man are two of the finest examples of British fiction ever written.
RIP - hope he got a personal visit from DEATH himself...
Never read anything by him but I will one day. He's done so much for Alzheimer's charities. It's a horrible illness that I've been losing a family member to for almost ten years now. RIP.
I dunno. I saw the documentary where they followed a guy going to Dignitas, he seemed pretty unhappy for a fair few seconds. Nitrous oxide in a bag on my head for me if I'm ever in that situation.
As for the theory behind it, great idea. A) We wouldn't put animals through what we make people endure and b) it is the ultimate form of discrimination that someone who is disabled can not choose to end their lives, when I as an able bodied person could easily kill myself whenever I wanted. Someone paralyzed in a wheelchair would find it almost impossible.
Oh wow. Posted without reading the latest news... RIP. Always admired how much he did to promote awareness of such a terrible disease, and to then promote what he saw as a great cause.
Luckily Ive never had to deal with this kind of a situation, but I did feel inclined to agree with a disabled charity's representative who I heard on the news that said having the right to die would be a shadow hanging over the ill who, in the case of the vast majority without it wouldn't have ever felt the need for it.
An ill friend of mine also felt it could begin to warp people's views of old/ill people because the first thing that might come to one's mind if you sore someone in Steven Hawking's position might be when are they going to ask to die which would be awful. There are many paralyzed/ill people who still continue to live happily (to the extent one can do in that situation) and contribute heroically to society in jobs such as teaching for example. While there are some horrific cases where people feel they just can't carry on Im just concerned of the impact it would have on others outside of this spectrum.
I understand Im going against the grain here and people may feel very strongly about this but I think its also good to put forward the other side of the argument because things aren't always as obvious as the might first seem. I would be more open to passive euthanasia though.
RIP .. a great talent with a unique and weird mind .. he looked far older than 66 .. dementia is a terrible way to go but I am sure that he was well provided for in his last few confusing years .. that other great eccentric SF/fantasy writer Douglas Adams also died quite 'young' .. all that thinking perhaps
Comments
Interesting that the clinc said that in all the years of operating they had seen around 150 people from the UK. So not sure we would all of a sudden see a flood of people queuing up to use the service if it was available here.
They quoted yearly figures for the clinc but cant recall the exact figure.
its horrible mate my dad longed for a little girl and got 2 boys then he doted on my son and then came along my little princess gutts me eveytime knowing that he will never see her.
i had a lot too make up and clear up and we did do most of it theres still so much i needed to say that i never and thats a tough thing to deal with, it dont seem right to wish you luck but i do wish you all the good luck you can get
Around 200 people per year I believe, many of them Swiss hence they get the choice of passing away in their homes surrounded by their loved ones. Something denied to ourselves in most cases.
Lets be honest here, no one is going to change their mind about such a complex subject overnight or because of a BBC documentary seen by a relatively small % of the population. All of us have had our views shaped by a lifetime of experiences, policitical or religous leanings, etc, etc. Len believes for instance that legalising the right to chose our time of death would lead to the exploitation of vulnerable people. I believe, and the experience elsewhere seems to support this view, that it wouldn't lead to situation where the elderly are being dragged into clinics by greedy releatives.
Doesn't make me right or Len wrong but IMHO it's important that we as a society start to discuss and address these issues. With an ageing population and finite resources and finances how are we going to make sure that everyone gets the best quality of life possible right up to the last minute and not just the rich or those prepared to leave their families facing huge debts for their care? It's certainly not happening now is it and is only likely to get worse.
I believe that we will see this adopted by the UK within the next 20 years and that gives me great comfort that I (hopefully anyway) will have this option in the future should I need it.
Len. I can assure you that from first hand experience gained every day at my work there is no palliative care that can offer dignity right up until the point of death. Yes pain can be controlled and provide a better journey to the final moments but as death gets closer the amounts of pain relief required push the sufferer to be nothing more than a bed ridden shadow of themselves unable to participate in any aspect of their care and death when it comes is an undignified relief not only the sufferer but for all their loved ones. Nothing will convince me that properly regulated a choice of when and how you die is a human right and should not be denied.
RIP
RIP
Great author, very funny, very smart and greatly missed.
Loved his books - even after they started to get less funny and more cynical as he got older. Mort and Reaper Man are two of the finest examples of British fiction ever written.
RIP - hope he got a personal visit from DEATH himself...
The mind of a genius finally free.
As for the theory behind it, great idea. A) We wouldn't put animals through what we make people endure and b) it is the ultimate form of discrimination that someone who is disabled can not choose to end their lives, when I as an able bodied person could easily kill myself whenever I wanted. Someone paralyzed in a wheelchair would find it almost impossible.
An ill friend of mine also felt it could begin to warp people's views of old/ill people because the first thing that might come to one's mind if you sore someone in Steven Hawking's position might be when are they going to ask to die which would be awful. There are many paralyzed/ill people who still continue to live happily (to the extent one can do in that situation) and contribute heroically to society in jobs such as teaching for example. While there are some horrific cases where people feel they just can't carry on Im just concerned of the impact it would have on others outside of this spectrum.
I understand Im going against the grain here and people may feel very strongly about this but I think its also good to put forward the other side of the argument because things aren't always as obvious as the might first seem. I would be more open to passive euthanasia though.
RIP Pratchett, thanks for all your amazing books.