New Zealand has held a referendum on Euthanasia

I firmly believe in the right to choose - however, there need to be very strong safeguards in place. There is always the possibility that unscrupulous and impatient relatives could persuade (bully) an older person to agree to euthanasia.

There need to be especially strong safeguards for those people suffering with dementia.

The idea that we have the right to choose - yes. A referendum in the present circumstances - definitely not.

It’s an emotive subject - but personally I would vote for it! My mum died during the summer, vascular dementia and cancer, we did hospice at home. It was heartbreaking the speed of the decline, she was in such pain and trying to get meds that worked for both conditions was tricky - she would have hated to have known how she ended up, always said shoot me if I get like that!! for me if I was in her position I choose euthanasia - not that I regretted looking after her it was an honour and I miss the her before the illness totally. (earlier this year my dog was in such pain and he was put down at the vets no problem !!- miss him too!) Every case should be taken on an individual basis but there are times when it is the kindest thing to do.

Single people often have no one to speak up for them and they could be forced into signing documents or having documents signed without their permission.I am single, deaf and I have communication difficulties. I have had two consultations for hip replacement. One was awful, I felt as though I was on a conveyor belt. He was not interested in communication. I saw a different consultant this week who wanted to communicate with me as a real person.The operation will be done over Christmas
People with Downs syndrome are treated appallingly. I taught at a school where the swimming teacher was foul. I complained to the head, eventually I was given the swimming to teach
I do not shout, slap or force children to change quickly they cannot. As soon as a foetus is identified as Downs Syndrome. So much pressure is force to abort. It is a scary society. Where do you draw the line? Blind? Deaf? Old? Disabled Steven Hawkins?

Alexa

Aepgirl, if that is what you want you can always leave it to the doctor to decide when and how you die, just as it is at present.

However people of your opinion, and also a few religious fanatics in the House of Lords, should not be able to decide how and when I choose to die, as that is my business.

Both these paragraphs are confusing:

The first - at present how are doctors deciding when and how people die?

The second - no one is deciding how and when you die. If you want to kill yourself that is your choice; but why should you expect someone to assist you to do so?

Euthanasia is not legal in Scandinavia. It is or was in the Netherlands were it has caused a lot of controversy since it became legal.

I am opposed to the idea, as I am afraid elderly people could be pressurized into choosing the option.

I do understand why a person with a terminal illness might want to end things themselves, but information on suicide is readily available, so I would honestly prefer them to take that option.

The medical profession should never have to actively end a life. It is one thing to stop treatment except pain-killers, something quite different morally and ethically to deliberately end a life.

If I am ever in terminal pain, I would hope that someone would be kind enough to assist me to die. I don’t believe that person should be penalised for it, or be worried about criminal action. It is inhumane to passively accept someone else’s suffering when we have the means to help them end it.

I would hate to be a 'cabbage' - yes euthanasia for me! I had a friend who was a doctor - he was struck off for his beliefs.

Thank you for explaining what you meant BRAVEBETH

This is such an interesting thread, opinions from both sides. I would definitely vote for an assisted dying option. Its interesting that kelseylee01 has pointed out that it only applies in the last six months of life. I assume that is to assuage some of the concerns people have about it being misused.

In the 60's as a nurse we would give a cocktail to ease people on their way if they were in intractable pain, the medical profession is actually quite good at this, though a bit too good in the case of Harold Shipman, who would have had a field day if euthanasia was legalised. The Liverpool Care Pathway sent many relatively healthy people to an early death in horrible circumstances by withdrawing food and fluids, seeing them trying to drink the water in their flowers because they were so thirsty was dreadful.

I would worry about relatives not wanting to pay for long term care making patients feel so guilty that they would sign up for euthanasia. I would trust my doctor to take the decision to ease me out if he felt that was the right course. I volunteer at a hospice, and our patients die at home, in the way that they want, having made peace with the process. It is very rare that pain is untreatable, and if that is the case then sedation is the answer, allowing relatives to come and say goodbye before going under.

Bear in mind what your are putting onto doctors. Their whole focus is on 'first do no harm'. You are asking them to kill people they believe are not ready to die. Would you, yourself, want to do that? If not, then it is not right to put that onto them.

Theoretically I agree but with certain reservations. Around 2000 my two closest friends were dying from cancer. In both cases there was a point when they seemed very near the end but actually picked up and had three more months of a reasonable quality of life, one with meals out and trips etc.

My granny was well looked after in a convent but the lady in the next cubicle seemed to be in constant terror repeating over and over “No Papa please don’t lock me in the cellar”. Scary to think you could be like this for several years.

It used to be quite accepted that people would be unofficially helped on their way but, with the increasing litigious way society is going, it would only take one family member to cause ructions with a medical professionals career.

B9exchange, while I understand the points you make, I'm afraid that I'd disagree with your comment that "It is very rare that pain is untreatable".
After an accident nearly four years ago, my son was diagnosed with Complex regional pain syndrome. For all of that time he has suffered persistent severe and debilitating pain despite literally a cocktail of drugs being prescribed, he's been told by several pain clinics that the only option left is surgical i.e a spinal cord stimulator, if that fails, he'd be given psychological support to teach him to live with the pain, which for someone in their early 30's, is a pretty horrendous prospect. In some areas CRPS is colloquially known as the suicide disease due to the levels of pain individuals suffer.
However, if someone is terminally ill, is suffering on every level - is it right for a doctor to say "your not ready to die", surely that decision should be made by the person themselves.

It’s my life and I wish to choose when I no longer want it. I like the idea of being able to make that decision should I have an incurable illness or dementia (at the point where I remember nobody that I love and care about). What is the point of lingering on and dying a painful and/or lonely death.

This is a very difficult subject, isn't it?

When my dear late husband was terminally ill we had to have our cat put to sleep - she'd had a stroke and was very frail - the vet said that it would be 'a kindness' to put her to sleep. We had to agree and brought her home to bury her in the garden. Despite DH being ill he insisted on digging the hole for her as he muttered, "A shame we can't do this for humans." He could barely speak but I knew exactly what he meant.

DH passed away under the fabulous care of the hospice who said that he was very brave. Yes, he was and a lovely man too, who I miss every day. If euthanasia was legal would he have used it? Possibly. It would only have shortened his life by a few weeks or months. As it was, he had a 'good death' with morphine administered by IV. They knew he didn't have long and phoned me in the early hours so that I could be with him. I held his hand as I sadly watched him die. I didn't want him to die but didn't want him to live like that either.

Thank God for hospices. for those who've been affected by this.

The law in New Zealand will be that the patient will be in the ‘Last 6 Months of their life’.
Not sure if that will set peoples minds at ease though.

Maybe they won’t include people who have learning difficulties? We shall see.

I do not necessarily disagree with assisted dying, even euthanasia if really wanted by the person. As a retired nurse with over 40 years experience, I certainly appreciate the need for it in some cases.

My problem is with the regulation and whether it would not become the 'thin edge of the wedge' as happened when abortion was legalised. I do not disagree with that in principle and it is another argument but, remember at the beginning when two doctors were required to agree to it and there were very definite and few circumstances when it would be allowed Now it is on demand and there are even pills available over the counter to bring about an abortion.

What if euthanasia went the same way and it became too easy? What if people, whose existence was inconvenient, could easily be bullied into agreeing to assisted dying? I am afraid my faith in human nature is not strong enough to even consider it as an option unless there were cast iron safety measures that would never be diluted.

When I was a second year student nurse, thirty years ago, I would often be asked to sit with someone who was not only terminally ill, but slipping away fast. I would be there to hold their hand as they passed. Sometimes, a doctor would come into their room and administer a big dose of diamorphine (which is a respiratory depressant, also known as heroin) into the patient’s IV line. This basically helped them along. I was always shocked about this, even though this was done, I believe, out of kindness. The debate on euthanasia was lost on me, as I had seen it happen several times.

I would never agree with euthanasia as it would bring LOGANS RUN to reality besides it’s ungodly.

It’s worth reading this to see the details of what the referendum was about
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_of_Life_Choice_Act_2019?wprov=sfti1

We only have to look at abortion to see how things develop. Originally it was argued that abortion should be legalized to prevent back street abortions. Now it is looked on as another form of contraception and babies can be aborted because they have a cleft palate. A law is being brought in in Denmark (?) to allow children to be euthanized. Eugenics?
When my mum was I'll with cancer, I think she would have chosen to die to save her family the trauma of caring for her. As it was, she did have times of suffering, but she also had times of great joy before she died.

Millie it’s the NL not Denmark and here’s a bit of factual detail
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-54538288

I’d support assisted dying, no question.

On a related tack, having seen far too much of it, and the associated appalling lack of dignity (never mind the often endless anxiety and fretfulness), my greatest fear is dementia.

Which is why my Health and Welfare Power of Attorney contains an addition to say that if I ever get it - or any other condition where I am unable both to care for myself and to speak (with full mental capacity) for myself, then I emphatically do not want any treatment intended to prolong my life if Nature was trying to let me go. Nor to be given any medication to keep me ‘healthy’ and thus live longer - for what??

From all I’ve ever seen in some admittedly excellent care homes, there’s a good deal too much ‘striving to keep alive’ of people with an extremely poor quality of life. Who, if their former selves could have been asked, would almost certainly have said, ‘For God’s sake, just let me go.’

It’s been legal in the Northern Territiories in Australia for years.

We won’t get a referendum here as the government and pharmaceutical companies wouldn’t make any more money from it!