Crow's right to die...Euthanasia in UK?

by Brummie 18 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Brummie

  Dont know if this has been discussed so sorry if it has...

  Just watched the interview with the 70 year old Mr Crow who is paralysed from the neck down and will soon loose his voice. Today he is flying from England to Switzerland to die....very moving. Though Euthanasia is still against the Law there, the government turn a blind eye. IN England it is against the law to help this man die, anyone helping will be prosecuted.

  Its easy to foresee that Euthanasia will eventually be practiced lawfully in England...would you agree? Everything else seems to be being legalised.

  What worries me is that we will begin to see a lot of our elderly people being "put down" especially by those heartless folk who never visit them in their homes but would hurry along to the funeral to cash in on their wills. Then there's the issue of disabled people being made to feel they are in the way and would be better off dead! Instead of raising their quality of life some people will make them feel life is not worth living....Doctors will be given the right to write people off to save money...etc.

  With all that in mind will it be of any benifit to legalise this? Or should we keep it against the law? Its all over the news this morning and in surveys 90% of people agree we should use euthanasia. I can see that Mr Crow shouldnt have to be travelling abroad to find peace, yet what would be the aftermath of legalising it?...sounds worrying.

  BTW Euthanasia is not about giving the patient the right to die (suicide is not against the law), its all about giving someone the right to kill...90% may agree to bring it into practice, but who really has the right to kill?

  What say yea? I dont know what to think, perhaps its one of those things I will never take either side on. I have been by 2 family members who have dies suffering and that makes me think allow it, yet how about the innocent who will suffer! Taking it to extremes it could be used as a legalised form of "ethnic cleansing" in the future....What we do today affects tomorrow.

  Is Euthanasia allowed in USA?

  Brummie

  Edited by - Brummie on 20 January 2003 7:39:52
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  Simon

  I think it should be allowed but with very strict safeguards to prevent it.
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  ashitaka

  I think it should be allowed but with very strict safeguards to prevent it.

  Agreed. Dire circumstances only. If the person is in so much pain, or is they will be horribly disabled, people should have the right. It's a shame it's against the law.

  ash
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  Angharad

  I think people should have the right, but as Simon said it should be very strict guidelines -Only to be done by going through the proper channels and applications so it cant be abused, and if that isnt done that way then the people who assisted should be investigated.
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  gumby

  This place is like a "think Tank" sooooooooooo many good answers and advise come from this place. I agree to what has been said so far.Nobody should have to live in pain when there is NO OTHER option.

  Gumby
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  Brummie

  Good answers, I just think every single law that comes into being is abused...this one could be one of the worst abused. At the same time I do agree that someone suffering so dreadfully should be able to make a personal decision to end that suffering.

  It kind of dawned on me while reading this that Euthanasia has been practiced in England for years by Jehovah's Witnesses re:blood issue! Weird it never dawned on me before.

  Back in 1982 a close family member went onto a life support machine, we spent 3 days at the hospital but on the third day they turned off the machine saying that the person was "clinically dead"...what does that mean? Who decides? She was only 32 yrs old. "Clinically dead" simply means that the person is still alive, otherwise they would just be classified as "dead". Later we heard of someone else who was "clinically dead" and they recovered...the mind boggles.

  Back to the Crow story, what a pity, couldnt help but feel gutted for him and his wife.
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  Yerusalyim

  If someone wants to end their life, do it on their own. The problem is, in places where Euthanasia has been legalized, there was a marked increase in INVOLUNTARY Euthanasia. Not to mention that Insurance companies will begin to actually ENCOURAGE this because it will be cheaper for them to pay the death benefit than the cost of care for many diseases. Euthanasia is a BAD IDEA as public policy.
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  D wiltshire

  I feel that we should respect a persons rights to the extent that they do not harm others in the process.

  If someone has young children and they are in fair health they should not be allowed to euthanize themselves until after their children are old enough to take care of themselves or they have someone who has agreed to to do so legally.

  So if they have no obligations then they should be allowed to end thier life without governement interference. They should be checked to see if they have a form of depression that can be treated thus improving their life. If after being checked and treatment given (if needed) they still wish to be euthanized,.. their wishes should be respected.
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  Englishman

  Mr Crowe died an hour ago, just a few minutes after drinking barbiturates through a straw. The drink is very bitter, so they offer chocolate after drinking so as to sweeten the taste. Most people fall unconscious before they can chew it. Death follows in about 4 or 5 minutes.

  2 visits to the clinic are necessary, the first is to make sure that the client has pursued all other options. The second is to complete the procedure, the patient must prove that he has put all his affairs in order as well. The patient can back out at any time.

  Most patients go with a calm dignity, the whole process including the normally long treain journey with no luggage required, is said to be just a part of a departure that has been awaited for some time.

  Englishman.
• 

  TruckerGB

  I would agree that a person should have the right to end their life if pain or disability becomes too unbearable,but with big reservations, and in a way they have.

  When my poor Mum was in her last days with cancer,she refused everything,and said pump me up with morphine and let me go,it was her decision though with no outside influence,I didnt want to lose her,but the inevitable was obvious,and the medical staff of the hospital she ended her days in respected this,bear in mind though that this was somebody whose quality of life was vitually nil,so I can see Mr Crows point of view.

  I think where danger lies,is if the decision to end life,is not quite made by the person concerned,and there is some outside influence,be it with best intentions,to me,that raises huge moral issues.

  I can only comment on terminal cancer,and I know Im not on my own here on this board,but another problem I can see is the good days and bad days a person goes through with this type of illness,if a decision was made to pull the plug so to speak on a bad day,whose to know that the next day wouldnt have been a good one.

  Hope this makes some sort of sense.

  Take care,

  Rich.