MSPs to get he chance to vote on assisted dying.

[gremlin]

Could assisted dying be coming to Scotland?

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-68674769

Assisted dying seems to be back on the political agenda, not least in Scotland where a bill has been submitted. I was surprised by the number of MSPs who have voted against previously, given that 78% of people are for some form of assisted dying.
Of course, the religious organisations are well entrenched in their views and seem to hold a disproportionate sway over parliamentarians wherever they reside.

For my tuppence worth, I've watched loved ones die in pain and fear, unable to move or drink, let alone eat or talk, for days on end before, inevitably, dying. Mrs. G watched both her nan and mum go this way and has made me promise to end her life if it comes to that. I have made that promise, and if I'm in a position to do it, I'll end my life at a time of my choosing.

Nobody lives forever. As we are free to choose to have a good life, we should be able to choose to have a good death.

[MrLongbeard]

A tricky one, and safeguards need to be robust but not so stringent that they block the will of the person seeking an early end, but I'd vote 'yes' all day long, quality of life needs to be the ultimate goal not quantity.

[Count Steer]

As above, the safeguards need to be robust and, if the law works properly it should be very difficult to change. There have been ground-breaking laws where they had a very specific intent that has become abused/diluted. eg abortion - which seems to have become a form of post-hoc contraception, rather than as originally intended.

So, a rather hedged 'yes' from me.

[Cousin Jack]

A very firm YES from me.

I watched my Gandad die, slowly and in pain. I saw my Nam turn into a vegetable, and my Mum really wanted to die for the last 6 months of her life. Instead she got a broken pelvis.

If you treated a dog the way we treat humans you would be prosecuted.

[cheb]

Another firm yes here for the usual reasons.

[Sunny]

100% yes. I have no desire to live in pain or as a vegetable. I have a copy of The Peaceful Pill Handbook for back up.

[Yambo]

Mrs. G watched both her nan and mum go this way and has made me promise to end her life if it comes to that. I have made that promise, and if I'm in a position to do it, I'll end my life at a time of my choosing.

Like you and I'm sure many others, Mrs Y and I had talked about ending each others' life if it was coming to a less than ideal end. Neither of us made any promises though.

Mrs Y's cancer caused some serious pain and suffering in the last 6 months of her life but despite her wanting the pains to end there was no way I could have killed her (cos that's what you're talking about). With regular visits from doctors, district nurses and the hospice nurse, any intervention would have been spotted easily and I'd have been in court on a murder charge.

But none of that was what stopped me. I simply didn't want her to die and to be honest letting the cancer kill her was fast enough. I think you should have another chat and remove that promise.

[gremlin]

Mrs. G watched both her nan and mum go this way and has made me promise to end her life if it comes to that. I have made that promise, and if I'm in a position to do it, I'll end my life at a time of my choosing.

Like you and I'm sure many others, Mrs Y and I had talked about ending each others' life if it was coming to a less than ideal end. Neither of us made any promises though.

Mrs Y's cancer caused some serious pain and suffering in the last 6 months of her life but despite her wanting the pains to end there was no way I could have killed her (cos that's what you're talking about). With regular visits from doctors, district nurses and the hospice nurse, any intervention would have been spotted easily and I'd have been in court on a murder charge.

But none of that was what stopped me. I simply didn't want her to die and to be honest letting the cancer kill her was fast enough. I think you should have another chat and remove that promise.

That's a very humbling post and I appreciate you putting words on the page. Thank you.

I think the crux of this debate is about having the choice. Had my troublesome prostate been cancerous, I wouldn't have expected Mrs. G. to bludgeon me to death there and then, as I like to think my survival would have been reasonably assured. Sitting over a glass of wine and promising to end one another's lives if needs be is all well and good, but I'm old enough to realise that when push comes to shove, I may not have the strength to go through with it. That said, having seen people suffer, in the final days, when you're sat around a bed listening to that awful 'death rattle', I'm resolute in my conviction that the humane thing to do is to give them the sleep that is inevitable.

[Sunny]

Mrs. G watched both her nan and mum go this way and has made me promise to end her life if it comes to that. I have made that promise, and if I'm in a position to do it, I'll end my life at a time of my choosing.

Like you and I'm sure many others, Mrs Y and I had talked about ending each others' life if it was coming to a less than ideal end. Neither of us made any promises though.

Mrs Y's cancer caused some serious pain and suffering in the last 6 months of her life but despite her wanting the pains to end there was no way I could have killed her (cos that's what you're talking about). With regular visits from doctors, district nurses and the hospice nurse, any intervention would have been spotted easily and I'd have been in court on a murder charge.

But none of that was what stopped me. I simply didn't want her to die and to be honest letting the cancer kill her was fast enough. I think you should have another chat and remove that promise.

That's really thought provoking, thank you.

It's easy to say, but not so easy when things become reality. I'm firmly of the opinion that I would want out, but asking somebody else to help is a different thing entirely.

[Skub]

Given the number of entitled offspring who resent their parents 'wasting' their rightful inheritance,I wonder how those safeguards could be made bulletproof.

[cheb]

Given the number of entitled offspring who resent their parents 'wasting' their rightful inheritance,I wonder how those safeguards could be made bulletproof.

The safeguards can't be bulletproof but I'd prefer a slightly flawed system to none at all. As said above I want the choice.

I'm a firm believer than anyone should have the right to end their life painlessly for whatever reason and whenever they want.

[MyLittleStudPony]

My aunt's partner has been on do not resuscitate / intervene for many years now. She's a long way into a vascular dementia journey and has not been present for many years now.

But the care home repeatedly do intervene and keep her going. My aunt has had a go at them for it several times. The home has some sort of internal paperwork which states 'save' the person before checking any other paperwork, so that's what they do. I think it's costing £5k a month to keep her there and there is some talk about that's why they keep propping her up.

[Taipan]

Mrs. G watched both her nan and mum go this way and has made me promise to end her life if it comes to that. I have made that promise, and if I'm in a position to do it, I'll end my life at a time of my choosing.

Like you and I'm sure many others, Mrs Y and I had talked about ending each others' life if it was coming to a less than ideal end. Neither of us made any promises though.

Mrs Y's cancer caused some serious pain and suffering in the last 6 months of her life but despite her wanting the pains to end there was no way I could have killed her (cos that's what you're talking about). With regular visits from doctors, district nurses and the hospice nurse, any intervention would have been spotted easily and I'd have been in court on a murder charge.

But none of that was what stopped me. I simply didn't want her to die and to be honest letting the cancer kill her was fast enough. I think you should have another chat and remove that promise.

Opinions differ though and none of us are wrong. But, having watched cancer choke the life out of my Mother, i'd have killed her myself in a heartbeat if I could have. Her suffering was the most dreadful, inhumane thing I have ever seen despite the stirling efforts of the hospice to keep her comfortable.

[demographic]

I voted for yes, some people have a long, painful and humiliating death that I wouldn't put a dog through.

[Felix]

After us having to watch our mum die in agony with cancer. Yes.

[mangocrazy]

I've always regarded life as a precious thing that you fight to the last to preserve. But if I was in constant agony with no light at the end of the tunnel and the drugs just weren't working I'd just want someone to turn the lights out then and there.

So I'm a Yes as well.

[cheb]

I read of a an ongoing case in the Netherlands, a young person wanting to die, they didn't see any point in living because of persistent depression or somesuch. It was on the BBC news site but I can't find it now.

[Cousin Jack]

While I wouldn't want to see too many depressed young people take the exit route, it is their life, and their choice. I would put barriers in the way, but would not ban it completely.

[Yambo]

While I wouldn't want to see too many depressed young people take the exit route, it is their life, and their choice. I would put barriers in the way, but would not ban it completely.

Maybe the young do not understand that ending it early removes any possibility of life getting better.

[Cousin Jack]

While I wouldn't want to see too many depressed young people take the exit route, it is their life, and their choice. I would put barriers in the way, but would not ban it completely.

Maybe the young do not understand that ending it early removes any possibility of life getting better.

I think that would be the necessary safeguarding. A waiting period and a psychiatrist explaining formally that it was a final solution, and that many depressed people DO get better.