Right to die, right to live, and prejudices

Glass - I think your post is very relevant to the thread.
I think some doctors make judgements about old people too.
My sister was told by various doctors that all her ailments were just because of her age. Finally, she found an unbiased doctor who actually treated her. I have just heard that people over 65 comprise the major parts of patient numbers. Perhaps we should all just die before we get expensive to treat.

Sounds like a similar case to the one in the article, glass, and yes, it is shocking that there is still so much prejudice against Downs Syndrome and other genetic problems

I know I am going off on a tangent here so sorry bags we have a friend whose DD is Downs and needed a life saving heart op, the battle they had to get the hospital to carry it out. Its a disgrace the way judgement was made because she was Downs. The operation took place and her quality of life has greatly improved but would have been very different if they hadn't taken on the Authorities.

Lilygran - do you think your reservations about assisted suicide could be coloured by your religious beliefs?

So, lily, Do you think that Tony Nicklinson's family wanted him to die and he didn't? That's certainly not the impression I got from what I read. It seemed to be his decision that his family were supporting. I fully understand and agree with your reservations, but we ought to be able to accommodate those so that the rights of people like Tony Nicklinson are protected as well as the rights of people like AWA.

I think this highlights the dangers inherent in so-called assisted suicide. I cannot think of any safeguards which would be entirely trustworthy in the case of the vulnerable, whether because of age or incapacity.

While I was reading this report, I was listening to an item on BBC News which said that UK hospitals were on the verge of collapse. The hospital trust involved in this case is the one that allowed David Jackson to continue to operate after he bungled one operation after another and which made it very difficult for us to obtain my daughter's records.
Allowing people to die because they have a mental or physical disability was one 'solution' used in Nazi Germany. I would be very afraid if I had a relative whose quality of life was judged by doctors.

Whose life is it anyway?