Assisted dying according to Blurs drummer

[Massive Attack]

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 38863.html

Hear, hear! Long overdue law changes on assisted dying. 

[Mike Oxsaw]

This may gain traction if it can be guaranteed that the state gets no gain from the practice whatsoever.

That would mean no inheritance taxes payable and any benefits the recently deceased was receiving continue to be paid into their estate until such time as actuarial tables predict that they would have died.

Likewise, said estate is frozen and held by an independent trust until the same date, to help prevent those due to inherit pressurising the sufferer (even more).

[Takashi Miike]

Yet another tool in the depopulation programme. With that goofy fucker Rantzen attached to it, makes it even more despicable

[riosleftsock]

No death sentence for the very worst of scum for whom there is no redemption of this earth due to human rights protection for people who decided to invade our country, but a slippery slope to getting inconvenient types to kill themselves for their convenience

[Cabbige Savage]

Picjkle offer assisted death in pub car park of choice.
You can bring firends to!

[Mike Oxsaw]

Last month my mum passed away, she was 85 and had suffered from dementia for the last four or five years.
She was still living in her own flat with carers going in four times a day, and I was going round two or three times a week and taking her out for lunch on a Saturday.
Her dementia had got significantly worse over the last six months, she had always said that she didn't want to get to the point where she didn't know who anybody was and that was the way she was heading. Her quality of life was pretty non-existent.
She got taken into hospital with a lung infection which turned into pneumonia. I had legal power of attorney and asked the doctors not to treat her but to keep her comfortable, which they agreed to and carried out my wishes perfectly. It took a few weeks for her to eventually pass, and it was extremely hard to keep visiting towards the end as she was out cold on a morphine pump.

It was a really difficult decision to make but I'm comfortable that it was the correct one, it's what she would have wanted.
That whole process felt like assisted dying to me.


 

 

 

My mother went roughly the same way - was in a lot of pain in the end and sedated virtually 24 hours a day.

Her mind though was still as sharp as a razor and, being a nurse before she became a mother, fully understood her options.

In the rare windows of lucidness, when she was awake and the morphine hadn't quite worn off she explained that she had no desire to stay alive. Not really what myself and my 4 brothers wanted to hear, but she was adamant - she knew a morphine overdose would end it all, but the drug control was just out of her reach.

We discussed this amongst ourselves and the care staff (who were wonderful throughout) and it was suggested that should the control of her morphine drip "accidentally" be located within her reach, she would have the ability to end her own suffering.

No one knows how or when the drip was moved, but it was and she took advantage of it on her next lucid moment.

Emotions went every which way...and I still can't bring myself to letting my kids, who are now adults themselves, know the true ending of their beloved nan's life.

No way I want that emotion inflicted on my kids so they all know that when the moment comes that I can't wipe my own arse, it's time to pull the plug, wherever I am.

[Lee Trundle]

I think in Holland they assisted a 29 year old who was suffering with depression to die.

I don't think should be allowed.  I get that life can be incredibly difficult at times.  But you only get one shot at it.  There's always some light at the end of the tunnel somewhere with mental pain if you search long and hard enough.  Not so much with physical pain.

 

[wils]

Last month my mum passed away, she was 85 and had suffered from dementia for the last four or five years.
She was still living in her own flat with carers going in four times a day, and I was going round two or three times a week and taking her out for lunch on a Saturday.
Her dementia had got significantly worse over the last six months, she had always said that she didn't want to get to the point where she didn't know who anybody was and that was the way she was heading. Her quality of life was pretty non-existent.
She got taken into hospital with a lung infection which turned into pneumonia. I had legal power of attorney and asked the doctors not to treat her but to keep her comfortable, which they agreed to and carried out my wishes perfectly. It took a few weeks for her to eventually pass, and it was extremely hard to keep visiting towards the end as she was out cold on a morphine pump.

It was a really difficult decision to make but I'm comfortable that it was the correct one, it's what she would have wanted.
That whole process felt like assisted dying to me.


 

Sorry to hear about your Mum. From what you say there that comes within palliative care rather than what is being proposed.

I spoke to a doctor about this recently and he was telling me that decisions like the one you describe here are routinely made and keeping people alive at any cost has never been a doctor's main aim. Making them comfortable as they face the end is their main aim. He gave an example of where a doctor may knowingly prescribe a drug that can alleviate suffering in the full knowledge that, considering the patients condition, will shorten their lives.

The difference with the assisted dying is the person is being actively killed rather than allowed to die. This might still sound reasonable for people suffering. But every country that has brought this in has quickly extended the scope to allow people who are not terminally ill and also children without the consent of their parents. If you look at Canada, hospital patients are frequently 'made aware' of the option to use MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) without them requesting it. I saw one study that found Canada's government expects to save up to £140 million in health care costs by people 'opting' for MAiD with nearly 5% of people now being 'assisted' in their deaths. So when the nurse comes to 'make you aware' of your options what are you really being told here?

It's easy to find examples where you think assisted dying is the humane option but, like everything, there are consequences and looking at the countries ahead of us with this decision it's clear those consequences are going dwarf the benefits.

[Lee Trundle]

Last month my mum passed away, she was 85 and had suffered from dementia for the last four or five years.
She was still living in her own flat with carers going in four times a day, and I was going round two or three times a week and taking her out for lunch on a Saturday.
Her dementia had got significantly worse over the last six months, she had always said that she didn't want to get to the point where she didn't know who anybody was and that was the way she was heading. Her quality of life was pretty non-existent.
She got taken into hospital with a lung infection which turned into pneumonia. I had legal power of attorney and asked the doctors not to treat her but to keep her comfortable, which they agreed to and carried out my wishes perfectly. It took a few weeks for her to eventually pass, and it was extremely hard to keep visiting towards the end as she was out cold on a morphine pump.

It was a really difficult decision to make but I'm comfortable that it was the correct one, it's what she would have wanted.
That whole process felt like assisted dying to me.

 

The same(ish) thing happened with my nan.  I'm now going through the exact same process with my mum.

My mum always said to put her on a plane to Switzerland if she got like this.  Well, she has but I don't think I could be the one to do that to her.  Every now and then, just for a few minutes, she's my mum again.

[pulhampete]

Last month my mum passed away, she was 85 and had suffered from dementia for the last four or five years.
She was still living in her own flat with carers going in four times a day, and I was going round two or three times a week and taking her out for lunch on a Saturday.
Her dementia had got significantly worse over the last six months, she had always said that she didn't want to get to the point where she didn't know who anybody was and that was the way she was heading. Her quality of life was pretty non-existent.
She got taken into hospital with a lung infection which turned into pneumonia. I had legal power of attorney and asked the doctors not to treat her but to keep her comfortable, which they agreed to and carried out my wishes perfectly. It took a few weeks for her to eventually pass, and it was extremely hard to keep visiting towards the end as she was out cold on a morphine pump.

It was a really difficult decision to make but I'm comfortable that it was the correct one, it's what she would have wanted.
That whole process felt like assisted dying to me.
 

[,]

Surely we’re well past the time when a homosexual is considered a deviant.

Up until 1961 suicide was a crime in this country whereby someone who failed in their attempt to end their life faced the possibility of prosecution. Now with the current debate about an assisted suicide Bill the debate is more about protecting the assistors than it is about the individual who wants to die.

It is my belief that if a person wants to end their life but is physically incapable an approved process needs to be in place that grants their wish without the facilitators being prosecuted in any way.

[Mike Oxsaw]

A nice and humane idea in principle, bound for disaster when it is decided that deviants like paedophiles and homosexuals should be helped on their way before any impulse is acted upon.

"Deviant" as opposed to absolute wrong'un?

That's very left of you.

People who don't believe the BBC/MSM are deviants. Fans of West Ham are deviants (as the norm is to support a team other than West Ham).

[Gank]

A nice and humane idea in principle, bound for disaster when it is decided that deviants like paedophiles and homosexuals should be helped on their way before any impulse is acted upon.

[Massive Attack]

I'm a little confused.  Though of course it's terrible to be in such pain that the drummer's wife wanted to die, why did she feel the need to go to Switzerland?  Unless I'm missing something, she was still equipped to administer her own suicide without any assistance.

I thought that assisted suicide was more for people who were physically unable to kill themselves and needed help to achieve it. 

A fear of making a right mess of it maybe, or couldn't face managing doing it herself? The likes of Dignitas have the right professional conditions for this to be achieved which I think may appeal to those unable to actually perform the task themselves. That would be my guess.

[Alfs]

I'm a little confused.  Though of course it's terrible to be in such pain that the drummer's wife wanted to die, why did she feel the need to go to Switzerland?  Unless I'm missing something, she was still equipped to administer her own suicide without any assistance.

I thought that assisted suicide was more for people who were physically unable to kill themselves and needed help to achieve it. 

[Massive Attack]

For want of a better phrase, it's a no-brainer to allow it under the right conditions.

As long as it's done  consensually and of sound mind to make the decision themselves after an extensive process to be sure thats the decision that person wants to make after exhausting every other avenue to determine it's what the suffering person wants, then I think everyone has the right to end their life in a controlled and legal way. 

I find it so cruel to keep someone alive against their will if going through or about to go through severe pain or restriction like locked-in syndrome with little quality of life. I think it's everyones human right to die, just as much as it is to live, if they so wish. Who is anyone to decide on what is best for them as if they're God? 

But I stress it should be allowed after rigorous tests and discussions that this is the last resort. 

I really don't think it's more complicated than that and think it's long overdue the law should have changed long ago. 

Take suicide for instance, as long as someone has come to the conclusion they have had enough with life and wish to tap out and do it where it doesn't affect anyone in a controlled environment (I.e. not stepping in front of trains/jumping off bridges), then so be it. And I see it no different with assisted dying under controlled conditions, especially if they cannot physically manage it themselves anymore. 

 

[wils]

Yeah sounds convincing when it's put in those terms. Who doesn't want to relieve the suffering of our nearest and dearest?

But it requires a fundamental shift in how we value life. The sanctity of life gets replaced with a utilitarian view and although you will be promised safe guards against coercion etc, those will be eroded at an alarming rate. After all it's cheaper to kill people than administer palliative care in people's autumn years. And come to think of it, pensions will be cheaper if people didn't live as long once they stopped contributing to the exchequer.

If you don't believe me have a look at Canada which had all the safe guards in place when they brought it in in 2016. Now nearly 5% of all deaths are 'assisted'. And that is growing at about 30% a year. There are stories there of people opting to be euthanised becuase they can't afford to house themselves and the state happily obliges rather than providing the poor with cheaper housing. In Belgium and the Netherlands the safeguards that were meant to ensure only those terminally ill were allowed to opt for it were removed. Now young people who are suffering depression can opt for it. And it will go on and the psychological pressure on the old not to be a burden on their families will increase.

I have no doubt it will get passed. But in my view our humanity will start to evaporate as a right to life ceases to be absolute and starts requiring a justification for it to be granted.