Should You Have the Right to Choose When to Die?

No you’re not in a minority. I agree with you, we should have a Dignitas here in the uk. Years ago gps would help their terminally ill patients but now they dare not to for fear of prosecution along with a loved one who might help to overdose the I’ll one. Now we have to travel to Switzerland to die. There have been quite a few court cases in recent years but us Brits still can not choose when to die.

We should be given the right to die if no cure for illness i would hate to suffer and would most prob end it on my own while still able too a vet dont keep a animal suffer so why should humans need to lives could be saved by organs being donated

I teach about the subject of euthanasia so I'm an expert in terms of the information side of things. I teach about the different forms of euthanasia, the laws around euthanasia in the uk and in countries that allow it, I teach about the different arguments for and against and look at case studies of people who have had euthanasia and people who have been denied it and who it impacts them and their loved ones. It is a very emotive subject. I always start the topic by asking the pupils the question if your best friend asked you to end their life because they were suffering could you do it? The immediate answer is yes. I ask the same question at the end of the topic and more often than not the answer has changed. They still think you should allow euthanasia but they couldn't physically be involved in the process.

I think that we should be allowed to decide when and how we die but their needs to be strict laws around it like there are in other countries.

My mum has a friend who is suffering badly with cancer at the moment and doesn't have long left and she thinks she should be allowed to end her suffering if that's what she wants.

Well here I go with the time honoured reply: We don't allow animals to suffer in the way we force humans to spend their final days/weeks/months in agony, upset, embarrassment, humiliation, indignity and so on.

If a person is of sound mind to make a decision, will never recover and is in terrible pain then it is inhumane not to allow them to slip away. I live alone and dread an end like that.

Hi Janhrrs

What do you think about those people where there's actually nothing wrong with them, who are not physically or mentally ill, but simply bored with life, broke, lonely after the loss of their partner, or who have simply had enough?

Do you think they should be able to end their life whenever they like (i.e. legally in a hospital/clinic environment)? If so, do you think there should be a minimum age limit? 16? 20? 30? 50? 70?

Hi Johnny personally I would have to say no. It's one thing to aid suicide to someone with no hope for a future but if there future isn't set in stone then I would consider those wishes to be mental health issues and I think that we as a society have a long way to go in supporting and changing attitudes towards mental health. It's wrong that in this day and age people can feel so utterly abandoned and destroyed that the only light at the end of the tunnel for them is suicide. As a society I believe we are failing such people. What are your views?

Only if, and if the person suffers from a disease that's overtaking him/her and it's too painful to carry on living. In that case, then it's a maybe. But if someone really wants to take his/her own life, it's not as if it's not possible. There are plenty of ways he/she can go at it, to be honest.

Anyway, you probably shouldn't expect the U.K. govt to allow this legally considering they don't even allow citizens to legally own a firearm for protection against criminals (they get their weapons regardless). Every day innocent people die due to being stabbed, shot or the likes and it's "normal".

Hi Rockman yes there are plenty of ways to sort it yourself but if you want a family member to remain with you or wish to say goodbye to your loved ones then you know you will leave a whole pile of crap to rain down on them as it is illegal. Whereas if you could legally go somewhere and die peacefully, surely that's better. Also there are many ways to do it but they are not failproof and can cause a lot of pain and distress to the person who attempts it as well as those around them.

I agree that you should be able to choose when it is your own time to go. As has previously been mentioned - why do we think it is humane to put an animal out of it's misery but insist that humans MUST suffer needlessly which brings with it a complete lack of thought, care & dignity, we expect people to put up with inhumane, undignified, miserable and embarrassing situations as we are not allowed to help them in their darkest hours for feal of prosecution. As a country we seem to care more for animals than each other. I really don't see why 'judges' are permitted to dictate to us how degraded we have to become before we die.