Whats your opinion on on this this topic. Should it be made legal? Do you think it would be abused? Is it right or would you class it as murder. Do you think its right for people who take their loved ones abroad for this?

In the Netherlands a doctor is allowed to commit euthanasia if he adheres to certain rules.

I think that if a person is of sane mind and has a terminal illness and everything has been done that can possibly be done to save the person, then the person should be allowed to die rather than suffer. Obviously it would have to be under very strict rules etc and am not sure what legalities would surround it.

If thats was me dying a slow painful death id certainly wouldnt want to suffer and much rather go when i felt my time had come.
This always reminds me of Dot and Efthal from eastenders!
Im not sure about it being legal in this country though....im interested to read the replies though.

I think it should be allowed

My idea of how it should work (how I'd like to be able to plan my own demise) is that just like a will you are able to draw up a legal document thats states in what circumstance you want whatever done. You can only do it when you are of sound mind, just like a will.

That way people like my granddad who wasn't of sound mind near the end couldn't just be killed off because someone says he wanted it!

I do not want to die the way my granddad did It wasn't nice for him or anyone who saw him suffer, there was no need for him to starve to death. If he had been able to decide that once it gets to the point where he cant eat for hiself and there is no hope of recovery that he is helped along the way.

Yes I do think it should be legalised.

We would be seen as cruel if we were to let a pet suffer without taking them to the vet when you know there is no hope yet we have to sit and watch our nearest and dearest loved ones suffer slow painful, degrading and humiliating deaths and have no power to help them even if they want it - it's wrong!

xx

I definately agree with euthanasia. As some of you know im a nurse and have looked after many patients with chronic debillitating disease's that suffer day after day.

For eg.. One lady i look after, is 78, has alzheimers, severe arthritis, has had both knees & hips replaced, 12 months ago she fell and fractured the shaft of her femur which was operated on and pinned. Since then she has been on continuous antibitics because she has an infection in the bone, she isnt suitable for further surgery. She is immobile , in pain, contracted clostridium difficile ( antibiotic induced infective diarrhoea) and now she is dying.

If she was an animal they woud of put her to sleep months ago.

I have a do not resusitate order on my dr' s notes if my heart was to stop.

Controversial eh?

Donzy how would you feel about not resuscitating her if it came to it?

The only think i would worry about with this subject is what if the patient decided to come to this decision whilst in a sane/able my but then changed their mind when they could no longer make their decision known?

I do hate to see people suffer but how on earth would it all work?

I'm gonna sit on the fence on this one as I know that we shouldn't want our loved ones to suffer but I would hate it when they died (I'm thinking my oh,my kids, my parents etc). So I'm going to stay on my fence. xx

I agree with Euthanasia, think it needs to be legalised but also carefully policed. I think Lisa's idea of it being in a will or a legal document would help prevent people abusing the system.

I have witnessed numerous family members dying slow and painful deaths with little dignity left at the end and think it should be every individuals right to decide how and when they die. When people sign DNR forms in hospital is this classed as euthanasia as they are saying I don't want to be resucitated if my heart stops.

i do agree with it, but i agree with mara, it could all get very messy in some situations

but like someone has said, an animal wouldnt be made to suffer, yet we are, and some who do decide they have had enough and pthers are made to suffer after if they help out

it should definatley be made legal in some circumstances...but it would be a tricky x

I agree with ethunasia 100%

I watched my father dying from terminal cancer when he was just 27 years old. His mind still worked perfectly but he was left to die a slow and painful death. It would be cruel to let an animal suffer like that so why is it ok for a human?

This lady wont be resusitated as she has been classified as an 'expected death' by her gp which means she will die naturally from an illness/ disease so wont have a post mortem.

I have been involved in cpr many a time and its not very often people survive. The stats on survival following cardiac arrest in a hospital are about 5 %

Its a horrible thing to witness

A dnr order isnt the same as euthanasia because euthanasia is assisting someone to die by giving them medication

Right i see!

Its must be hard to be in that situation.

So it is assisted suicide in a sense? I know i could never be that person who in a sense helps someone to kill themselves. But like i said i do agree with euthanasia in certain situations!

in principle i agree with euthanasia, i work with the elderly and have witnessed proud and dignified men and women in their 80s and 90s die very slow and painful deaths which noone would put an animal through let alone a human being
However i agree with what others have said reagarding how would it be legalised and then made watertight against people abusing the law?
I dont know how i would feel if it was one of my nearest and dearest saying they wanted to go abroad to end their life eg dignitas and equally wouldnt like to say i could be strong enough to make a decision like that if i was terminally ill?
All very thought provoking x

I believe it is mara but not 100% , i watched a programme a while back where a 50 year old who had motor neurone disease did it, he went to this centre, they gave him a drink ( to kill him) but he had to be able to drink it himself, then he lay down in bed with his wife and peacefully slipped away in his sleep, it was soo peacefull

Terri wrote:

If thats was me dying a slow painful death id certainly wouldnt want to suffer and much rather go when i felt my time had come.
This always reminds me of Dot and Efthal from eastenders!
Im not sure about it being legal in this country though....im interested to read the replies though.

Why not in this country?
If i was to choose this option i wouldnt want to die in another country. I would want to be surrounded by things i know xx

This case really stuck in my mind as the chap was so young. I 100% agree if someone is of sound mind they should be able to make the decision but it must be hard for their families
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4969423.ece

I have seen a couple of relatives die who had altzeimers etc and can honestly say that I did htink if that were me i woudl rather have an end to it than carry on living like that.

I am in favour of it and I can also see how it could be abused.

I watched my proud and very vain grandmother go downhill over 3 years until she was just a shell with nobody inside. It was painful to watch and I can only imagine the distress it caused my mother. If she had chosen when to die she would have gone 6 months before he body finally gave up and could have gone with dignity.

i definately agree to it, and lisa's idea is the one i have thought of myself.

I dont wat to suffer to such an extreme and what i feel is an inhumane way to live.

i would happily put my name to a list of conditions that i wouldnt want to endure and also wouldnt want my family to endure with me

I think if everything medically possible has been done, than shutting off the machines is appropriate. This is hard, because there have been so many miracles of people who have been written off medically, only to recover. I often think of all those who did chose to die, if there was a glimmer of hope. Then again..to see someone in agonizing pain and terminal. I remember that story of that lady in the states who's husband won the right to end her life..and her family fought so hard against it. Terri Schiavo I think her name was. Such a sad sad story. xxx

Thats actually a good point Jen.

If it was made legal, would there be something in place where family members had to agree to the decision as well as the patients wishes? And how far down the family would they go???