I think under the right circumstances it should. As far as I am aware Euthanasia operates in Holland and Switzerland sucessfully. Just put some laws in place to govern and close any loopholes.

I agree, Euthanasia should be legal given the right circumstances, such as a terminal illness diagnosis that will constantly deteriorate and leave the person dying as a 'vegetable'. Each case would have to be judged individually though - the person would have to apply for the right, with the diagnosis from the doctor.

It certainly should be legal, some people are kept alive with little or no quality of life whatsoever, we don't treat animals that way do we !
I can appreciate the need to tighten loopholes in any such law, were it to be passed, but these people and their loved ones should be able to choose.

The results so far certainly so that it should be reviewed.

Yes....Thats all i have to say on the matter.

An emphatic no, it should not be legalised as it is open to abuse, there are always people who would use this law to get rid of someone who stood in their way. Beneficiarys for example, who stood to gain financialy from someones will, or who wanted a person out of the way for other reasons, I.E a rival.

I do understand the argument that it would be humane to end suffering, but human life is sacred and at the end of the day no one wants to die, no matter how old or ill. Furthermore, there will always be evil people who are willing to maniplulate the law for their own selfish ends.

To sum up, I do not think it is worth the risk of legalised murder, as indeed it would lead to that in some cases.

>no one wants to die, no matter how old or ill<

I have to disagree with this.

There are plenty of people who are very ill who do want to die.

I know for a fact if I were to get seriously ill and my quality of life was zero then I would definalty want to be allowed to die with some dignity.

Originally posted by "halevan"

and at the end of the day no one wants to die, no matter how old or ill.

I also have to agree strongly with this - my mother wanted to die for years before she actually did pass away - she was in constant pain and hardly mobile, and it was only going to get worse.

Originally posted by "Mike"

and at the end of the day no one wants to die, no matter how old or ill.

I also have to agree strongly with this - my mother wanted to die for years before she actually did pass away - she was in constant pain and hardly mobile, and it was only going to get worse.

so why do you agree with it then?

This post is very ageist, there's nowt wrong with having 'Youths in Asia'.
:wink:

Originally posted by "t020"

so why do you agree with it then?

That was a typo - disagree strongly :oops:

I've just learnt a lot about Euthanasia from my RE studies. I'll bore you all now with some possible reasons why people may or may not believe that Euthanasia is acceptable.

General Christian views.

The Salvation Army said
"It is acceptable for a doctor to control pain, but not to end a life."

The Roman Catholic Church said
"An act of omission which causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder"

It's too much responsibility to put on a doctor.

It's better to care for someone in a hospice, in their final days.

Legal euthanasia could be used for selfish gain.


General Jewish views.

A Rabbi said
"If there is anything which causes a hinderance to the departure of the soul, then it is permissible to remove it."

(Which I should imagine means that they believe it's acceptable to turn off a life support machine.)


It's good to lesser someone's sufference, but ending or shortening a life is murder.

It's good to pray for someone's suffering to be released but then it should be up to God to decide.



The views listed above are just things to consider, according to what I've learn't in Religious Education.

As an Athiest, I don't accept the statements above as a legitimate reason for not allowing Euthanasia.
Religion should have nothing to do with it. We should be governed by the laws of our country and not of an enity that cannot be proved of existence.

(Quote removed - gb)[/siz]

Fully agree Debouncer that religion only exists to them who believe it, and the onus is with the politicians.

Originally posted by "The Cycleracer"

Fully agree Debouncer that religion only exists to them who believe it, and the onus is with the politicians.

Sorry, did I miss something? The onus of what should be with the politicians? Politicians only implement things if it's the will of the people. In order to have passed into law something in which you strongly believe you need to raise its profile and prove that sufficient people, i.e. voters, support you.

Having the press on your side will help but I think on the subject of euthanasia you'd be on a loser. Too many middle england people hold strong, religious based, beliefs which hold that euthanasia is contrary to the bible, koran, whatever, for either the press or politicians to upset them.

The Politicians do not always listen to the people and no matter what the public view is wether the majority are for it or not they throw the final shots.
The Death penalty is a prime example.....No public vote, why, because the politicians decide otherwise.

My Dear Mother was very ill for a period of forty five years and she did not want to die, even at the age of eighty two years.

She wanted to live for her children, and we wanted her to live and be happy with us, which she did. Who do people think they are to decide on someones death, only God is able to do that.

We are not qualified, to take on such a responsibility to say who will and who will not die at a certain time, doctors should provide relief from pain to aleviate suffering and allow human beings to live as long as they can.

Living on this Earth is a risk, we are at risk all the time from illness, accident, disease and in certain cases self abuse which shortens their lives. Some people deliberately destroy themselves, with poisonous illegal drugs whilst stoned out of their minds.

Live and let live I say do not pass judgement, or a death sentence by supporting legal Euthanasia.

Originally posted by "halevan"

Who do people think they are to decide on someones death, only God is able to do that.

We are not qualified, to take on such a responsibility to say who will and who will not die at a certain time, doctors should provide relief from pain to aleviate suffering and allow human beings to live as long as they can.


If somebody decides that they themselves want to die, then that should be up for them. It's their life and nobody elses.

It's all very well saying "only god is able to do that", but I don't believe that there is a god.

Don't forget, doctors routinely allow patients to die already, eg DNR, etc.

Oh my GOD! I agree with Mike! :D :lol:

Don't worry, I'm sure it won't last :wink:

What are your views?

It's a difficult one but on balance I'd say No.

I've personally seen the misery and heartache of being kept alive when it seems so wrong, so I say yes.

I think the young people of India have much to answer for;)

euthanasia = good death. What's to disagree with?

I think it is cruel to keep a paitent alive with a terminal illness and make them suffer the pain and indignity of dying from such dreadful diseases such as cancer.

If a paitent wants to be euthanised then it should be allowed, but instead a paitent has to request a do not resuscitate order which must be awful for the paitent and for the family members to go through.

I agree with euthanasia and I think its about time it became legal in this country.

i have an uncurable illness that can only get worse but will not kill me. i would like to choose at which stage i would die. it would give me peace of mind. so my answer would be yes

My main concern is that it might become an easy option for families who are fed up with the old bugger hanging on, or for the medical profession who are pressured for beds and resources.

Triage by another name, so to say.

When my mother died she'd always said that she just wanted to be allowed to go when the time came, and I respected that. I've also worked with people who've had serious brain damage in accidents or at birth - quality of life is a day to day issue there.

If it could be set up so that there were safeguards, then I'd be happier with it but I just don't trust the legal and medical profession to get it right.

It heads in to the territory of what constitutes a life not worth living - it's inevitably going to be very subjective and the sort of area where precedent law could easily get made.

For example....would we allow someone to have a 'Euthanase if in a permanent vegetative state' put in their permanent medical records? This is certainly something that scares me - being in such a state - and might easily be the sort of thing that people choose the Euthanasia option for when they're healthy. But it's not impossible for people to be in a coma for 10 years and wake up - rare but it happens. How do we judge when a vegetative state is permanent? How do we know whether people are concious 'in there' or not?

And...if someone is in that state, and has a nice healthy heart....and we have someone who needs a heart....might a doctor seize upon the 'Euthanase' option to save a life? All very difficult!

As I said....I was tempted to go 'unsure' but eventually went No because of these sorts of issues.

Joe

Originally posted by hazel
i have an uncurable illness that can only get worse but will not kill me. i would like to choose at which stage i would die. it would give me peace of mind. so my answer would be yes

Sorry to hear that Hazel.....I genuinely hope that medical science progresses for you in a timely manner.

Thanks for posting to this thread - when an ethical issue becomes personal it makes us all re-assess our views. Thanks for sharing your situation.

Joe

They wont let a dog live in pain, so why should humans have to?

Obviously its not as cut and dry as that, but in the right circumstances I agree with it.

Threads merged.

Im sorry to say but what all you people lack is the personal need for euthanasia.
Im my family their is the genetic disease, which to be honest is incurable and causes agonising life quality.
both my mother and i have this disease, she has asked me to help her die and i can not because i would be breaking the law.
i myself would not like to live in the condition which this disease causes, and give my son the agro that was put upon me when my grandmother died.
I am all for euthanasia, and those who disagree do not know the life behind the need.

Like hazel my husband also has a disease that will not kill him, and he could go on for years just daily getting worse, he has little quality of life now, so God only knows how he will be in say another year, but talking of God I do wonder then why a man who has never hurt anyone in his life, who has worked hard and paid all his dues, ends up only a shell of his former self,I realise no one wants to die, but I'd be locked up if I made an animal suffer like this, I know his choice would be to end all this when he is ready,and thats how it should be, when he's ready.

A sensitive and delicate issue.Like many other posters i have watched someone i loved dearly die slowly and painfully.He wanted to end his life and considered suicide.He didnt do this as he wanted to make sure my mum was financially ok,and she wouldnt have been,had he gone ahead(void insurance etc) He had a 'living will' which,sadly, couldnt be honoured due to the law. Euthanasia was what he wanted.
However,to look at things from another angle,as a nurse,I do have some difficulty with this issue-who ultimately administers the injection,that (albeit humanely) ends another's life?
Its easy to say,but not always so easy to do.
this is why i voted 'dont know'

If somebody decides that they themselves want to die, then that should be up for them. It's their life and nobody elses.

It's all very well saying "only god is able to do that", but I don't believe that there is a god.

Don't forget, doctors routinely allow patients to die already, eg DNR, etc.

If somebody decides that they want to die, then why dont they simply commit suicide rather than placing the burden of 'euthanasia' on others ?

I just think the risk to peoples are too great of laws are passed which legalise killings.

There will ofcourse always be tragic circumstances, but thats life for you.

Z

If somebody decides that they want to die, then why dont they simply commit suicide rather than placing the burden of 'euthanasia' on others ?

Z
as i said in my post,suicide often is not an option as it prevents people from leaving their loved ones any money.That assumes that they still have the ability to kill themselves-for many people in the later stages of terminal illness,they are too ill to carry out such an act

It happens that some people aren't able anymore to commit suicide,they might want to, but they physically can't anymore, hence the reason they have had enough, they have no dignity and no hope left to make any choices as to what they might want, they have to rely on others for everything a human being requires, so don't call this a life.

It happens that some people aren't able anymore to commit suicide,they might want to, but they physically can't anymore, hence the reason they have had enough, they have no dignity and no hope left to make any choices as to what they might want, they have to rely on others for everything a human being requires, so don't call this a life.
I do agree with you here,Applegrim.Having worked on a geriatric ward,and seen all the old people that have been "dumped"by their relatives,they have no dignity of life left.

I do agree with you here,Applegrim.Having worked on a geriatric ward,and seen all the old people that have been "dumped"by their relatives,they have no dignity of life left.

but thats a problem with society and the breakdown of families.
I still dont see how 'by knocking them off' we're progressing in the right direction. Quality of life is just too subjective a term.

By legalising Euthanasia we're just opening the doors to someone one day passing laws that people should be 'Euthanised' at say retirement (abit extreme but still a possibility)

Everybody needs care at the start of their lives and at the end.

The argument of Euthanasia is very similar to infantacide, where parents kill off their children (esp girls) as they will become a burden later on.

Both are wrong.

Z

When I was around 25 years old, my mother told me she had visited the pier fortune teller in Blackpool - - Eva Pellegrina or some such. She was told some facts about me, her son, that all matched, and that she would lose me when I was thirty. Shock - Horror - - I enjoyed the next few years, and went on some devil may care expeditions.
Now - sadly, I am afflicted with an incurable illness. I wish there was a euthanasia policy - - - that would enable my GP to prescribe scotch and nicotine in sufficient quantity to finish me off. I've been trying for thirty years or so, at no great cost to the NHS.
Tony Blair take note - - - One pill - one last dream - think of the savings??

as i said in my post,suicide often is not an option as it prevents people from leaving their loved ones any money.That assumes that they still have the ability to kill themselves-for many people in the later stages of terminal illness,they are too ill to carry out such an act

couldn't it also be argued that when the person is in a state where they cant kill themselves, they're also not able to make clear decisions ?

My Grandmother(God bless her soul), in her latter years was in so much pain that she was always asking God to end her life. She wasn't also fully incharge of her mental faculties, we NEVER took her seriously. To the contrary, we would try and make her laugh and distract her, even if for a short while.....

Z