Today Parliament will take a vote on the principle of legalising the assisted death of terminally ill people who wish to die
I have no special insights into this topic and have not studied the two cases. Had I remained as an MP I would have widely consulted with constituents and voted in accordance with where I thought the majority lay. I would not have argued a case or adopted a view of my own. Today I have no need to decide as I have no vote.
As a result I am offering this unusual short opinion free blog as an opportunity for those of you who know more of this than I do or who have a strong case to make to do so.
The case for assisted death majors on the desirability of people having this freedom. The case against rests on the dangers of others placing undue pressure on a sick person and of a wrong diagnosis of how ill the person is.
November 29, 2024
Good morning.
My concern is ‘mission creep.’
All these things start out with supposed good intentions. eg to releave suffering of a terminally ill person. We all ready have been practicing a form of euthenasia in the form of abortions. It is all life at the end of the day.
But I believe that the day will come when we could see a policy of getting rid of what the Left have called in the past, ‘Useless eaters.’ ie the very old and those who have disabilities.
Are we about embark on a slippery slope ?
November 29, 2024
Mark B
Those are my concerns too. Particularly, as so many on the left seem to be un-empathetic . Look how they scream at those who even dare to disagree with their views…
Your phrase, ‘useless eaters’ could come to pass in their future decision making – scary thought!
November 29, 2024
Terminally ill people have no wish to die. Their only wish is to assert control over HOW THEY DIE. There is a subtle difference.
My brother died of penile cancer. He was thirty three. It was absolutely avoidable. He’d express a desire to commit suicide but we persuaded him against it. He passed away in a hospice.
It’s a terribly sad topic of debate.
November 29, 2024
It all seems too rushed to me and worthy of more discussion before the vote is taken. Sometimes the decision to die is taken by the seriously ill patient declining the offer of further treatment that would prolong life. My late brother in law opted for this route, understandably so because his life post the offered operation would have been intolerable for him. He was already very ill and unable to live life normally. I suspect he would not have opted for a legally assisted death but cannot be absolutely sure about that.
November 29, 2024
It would become a prescribed option by the GPs.
The longest journey starts with a first step.
This is he first step.
November 29, 2024
We already possess the right to die. It is possibly our only inalienable human right. No one can stop us hanging ourselves or jumping off a cliff if we choose.
This Bill is about establishing a right to be killed by someone else. Those expected to do the deed – doctors and judges – should be heard with attention. I gather neither group have been widely consulted.
I once put to a doctor friend that a letter signed by two doctors and ratified by a judge should be enough to establish the right to medical euthanasia. He replied with vehemence that he would NEVER sign such a letter.
November 29, 2024
I think this decision will divide between those who have watched and helped a loved one go through painful, last days or weeks of life, and those who have not.
I think it not beyond the wit of those well versed in law to put in good precautions.
November 29, 2024
Those still adhering to Judeo-Christian traditions might possibly question whether it is right or not to wrest the decision from the hand of God and give it to flawed human beings.
As a nation, we have abandoned those traditions so I guess we will continue down the rabbit hole of doom.