Assisted Suicide (Not Euthanasia)

[gzagee]

Hey all, dunno what your views are on this but in the light of Debbie Purdy losing her Appeal Court bid to ensure her husband wouldn't charged if he helped her die in a clinic abroad, I wondered what your thoughts are on this subject.

For those who are unsure (and without trying to patronise) here's the difference between the two:-

Assisted suicide: when someone suffering from an incurable illness or chronic intense pain — intentionally kills him or herself with the help of another person.

Euthanasia: when a doctor gives a lethal injection to a patient. It can also occur where a doctor stops and removes life-support machine.

Currently only Oregon in USA (I think), Holland, Belgium & Switzerland legally authorise assisted suicide

So peeps, do you think it's time we legalise Assisted Suicide not only in the UK but throughout the world or do you think we should leave well alone?

[UpTheSpurs]

I'm pro both Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, but I can see where the Government are coming form.

It'll be tough to know whether the person who wants to die genuinely wants to die, or is actually being forced to kill themselves.

Off the top of my head I don't know any but there surely has to be some sort of way to establish whether the person who apparently wants to die genuinely does want to die.

[Fordy]

then surly they could go to counseling and prove its what they want to do i understand some cases that is not possible but it the ones it is it should be allowed

it should be your right to chose to die and if you need help that should also be your choice

If was in pain or basically i lost all control of my mind i would prefer to be dead than have trina look after me all her life or me be in pain everyday with no chance of getting better

[She_Gunner_Wales]

I think in certain cases it should be made legal, cases where there is no hope of recovering, when they patient is likely to suffer greatly, knowing your going to die in pain like with cancer for example is no way of living your last days.

If it were me, then id go for it, as Fordy said, i neither would want my loved ones to see me suffer or be a burden to them when the inevitable is happening.

[Trina]

I agree in some cases it should be allowed.

I've heard of a number of cases that have gone to court and they have lost. When you hear how much pain they are in and that they want to die because it will just get worse, it should be their right to do so.

I agree with Fordy about the counseling too. It would be a good way to assess it.

[gzagee]

Say the fella went ahead and assisted the suicide, do you think he'd actually be convicted and sent to jail over here?

[SE13]

My parents have an agreement which myself and two sisters are aware of, in that should one of them "lose their marbles" the other would help to end things sooner rather than later. Regardless of whether I agree or not, that's their decision and in my opinion their right to chose.

Of course I don't want to be attending the Funeral of either of my parents, but if that is what they have decided is best for each other, who am I to argue?

My Dad had a quadruple heart bypass operation in 2004, and apparently that would extend his life by 10 years, but he would slowly return to how he was prior to it after that. He knows himself that should he fall back into ill health, there won't be a lot they can do for him, so he'd rather end it sooner than suffer. Again, whether I agree or not doesn't come into question, it's his wish, his decision, and his right to make that decision. I'm not going to be a part of whatever they have cooked up, and I don't know if my Mum would be able to do it, but after 45 years together (now) I imagine that they have everything set in concrete. If she did help would I look at her as a murderer? Of course I wouldn't, I know it is/was my Dad's wish.

[gzagee]

Are your family religious SE?

[Reverend Gooner]

Hey all, dunno what your views are on this but in the light of Debbie Purdy losing her Appeal Court bid to ensure her husband wouldn't charged if he helped her die in a clinic abroad.

I didn't think they could charge him as being abroad puts it out of their jurasdiction.

[gzagee]

Hey all, dunno what your views are on this but in the light of Debbie Purdy losing her Appeal Court bid to ensure her husband wouldn't charged if he helped her die in a clinic abroad.

I didn't think they could charge him as being abroad puts it out of their jurasdiction.

I think that's where the grey area lies.

[gzagee]

A woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her Appeal Court case to clarify the law on assisted suicide.

Debbie Purdy, 45, from Bradford, is considering going to a Swiss clinic to end her life, but fears her husband may be charged on his return to the UK.

She wanted clarification of where her husband, Omar Puente would stand legally if he helped her in any way.

But Ms Purdy said after the ruling: "I feel that I have won my argument, despite having lost the appeal."


I'm not prepared for him to face the British justice system without me
Debbie Purdy

She was diagnosed with primary progressive MS in 1995 and is now losing strength in her upper body. She has been in a wheelchair since 2001.

Ms Purdy has said she will take legal advice on what to do next, but said it was likely she would take her case to the House of Lords.

High Court judges ruled in October that official guidance did not need to change.

'Parliament's decision'

The Appeal Court judges had been asked to reconsider that judgement.

But they said: "Notwithstanding our sympathy for the dreadful predicament in which Mrs Purdy and Mr Puente find themselves, this appeal must be dismissed."

They said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) could not adopt a "case-specific policy in the kind of certain terms sought by Ms Purdy".

Their ruling said it had to be parliament which decided if the law should change.


It is time for parliament to remove the doubt which makes an upsetting situation even more traumatic
Evan Harris MP

And they added that, even if a defendant in an assisted suicide case were to be convicted, a court could decide that no sanction was appropriate.

Ms Purdy told the BBC: "The court has made it clear that they don't believe they are able to give me the clarity that I feel I need."

She added that if she could not be "100% certain" that her husband would not be prosecuted, she would go to Switzerland "earlier than I would otherwise want to".

"I'm not prepared for him to face the British justice system without me.

"That would be a nightmare, and far more painful than facing dying early."

Travel aid

Ms Purdy has always said she would still consider travelling to Switzerland to take a lethal dose of barbiturates prescribed by Dignitas doctors.

She wants her husband at her side, but has wanted to know if he could face prosecution on his return to Britain for helping her by buying train tickets, or by accompanying her abroad.

Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris backed Ms Purdy's call for parliament to consider the issue.

""The DPP has never found a basis for prosecution in over hundred cases of assisted dying - including one where the patient was not even terminally ill - so it is time for parliament to remove the doubt which makes an upsetting situation even more traumatic

No prosecutions

It is not the first time the issue has been raised in the courts.

In 2001 Diane Pretty, who had motor neurone disease, failed to get immunity from prosecution for her husband if he helped her to die in the UK.

Several attempts to legalise suicide in Britain have also been rejected.

In England and Wales, aiding or abetting a suicide is a crime punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.

There have so far been no prosecutions of relatives of 101 UK citizens who have gone to the Dignitas clinic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7898816.stm

[SE13]

Are your family religious SE?

Sort of, sort of not. The Parents kind of go in fits and starts with Church. I don't because I don't believe any of it. Jackie (Mrs SE13) is Catholic but never does Church either. My sisters don't do Church, but all their children are baptised, where none of mine are.

I and my two sisters were all baptised and confirmed C of E, yet Church is quite literally For weddings and a Funeral for me.

Make of that what you will.....

[Trina]

I'm not sure if that's the one I was just about to post about gzagee or a different one.

I read something a month or so back about a woman going to court to see if her husband would get jailed if he helped her die. They basically said it was against the law but would take things into consideration. It sounded like he might not jail him, but she said straight away as there was a slight risk she wouldn't let him help her die.

[gzagee]

It was probably the same, they were highlighting this case since October and they only concluded it recently. The article raises the issue that the husband could go to court for assisting his wife.
I don't know of any individual yet who's been jailed.

Though there may be cases where a custodial sentence was given...

[Trina]

What's your view on it gzagee?