Once again Dignitas is in the news. Having known someone in Switzerland who chose when and how he was going to end his life, I was wondering what other EF'rs though about this current, controversial subject.

Sure to be a healthy discussion ...

Personally, am all for it as long as the decision is made by someone of sound mind, or have previously provided some form of notarised communication. Am sure we can all think of certain life situations that we would rather not have nor wish on our families, from a health point of view

Think that if your quality of life is not good and you are in pain constantly and terminally ill then it should be your choice to go when you want. I think it allows people to die with dignity, this is another reason that I love Switzerland from an earlier post.

There was a programme on UK TV about an English lady who chose to end her life. She had an incurable disease which would progressively lead to her being in a vegetable state. Her husband had died this way and she knew exactly what her fate was. She was very intelligent and clearly knew exactly what was going to happen to her.

As I understand the procedure a person wishing to do this has to be assessed by two Doctors independently to determine that the condition is terminal, that they are fully aware of their decision and have not been influenced by relatives.

I’m in favour of it providing procedures like this are in place. I can’t see how you can tell someone they have to die a long and terrible death while their families watch and wait.

I think people get overly carried away with quantity of life and forget about quality of life. If a person is in pain, clear headed and chooses to make that choice who am I, or anybody else to say how a person chooses to end their life.

Just one of the reasons why I love Oregon so much, they passed a law "The death with Dignity Act" back in 1997 and has thoroughly stuck behind it regardless of what the federal government has tried to do.

Sound mind, know what they are doing, etc etc.

I also think that anyone who objects "because life is precious" (or whatever) is putting their beliefs ahead of someone else's suffering.

I'd be concerned about the kids doing in mum to get their hands on her millions kinda thing.

I know someone who has seriously expressed an interest to make on last trip - to Dignitas

Funny how some people will really mke a fuss to stop this sort of thing when it's nothing to do with them personally. I'd like to have the choice myself if it came to it without someone, probably on religious grounds (fine if I was part of your religiong...), saying what I could and could not do.
Saying that, the coffin dodger on the bus today would have been a good candidate, the cow.

I think the fuss was more about where it was happening. I can imagine it's not very pleasant living in the same building - seeing people entering one day and leaving in coffins the next - day after day... I know I wouldn't want that going on in our building. Maybe they should just buy a house somewhere...

I agree . On a tv programme in UK they had a story line in which one of the cast travelled to Switzerland for Euthanasia. They went to a beautiful house by a lake with the Alps towering in the backdrop. When I read in the paper about the flat in Zurich with neighbours complaining about bodies coming down in the lift I was horrified. It is not an image that you would like your loved ones to end their final days. Some illness makes people suffer greatly. My best friend died of pancreatic cancer and I would certainly not want to suffer the quality of life that she did.

I like the thought that I can have a say the matter while I live over here. I have broached the subject with my kids ( they didn't really want to talk much about it,, understandable of course), but I just don't want it to get to the point where they or someone else has to stand by and watch if I happen to find myself in such a dismal state as, terminal illness, with only pain, or worse,,,, being a burden to my best beloved people.

Ideally, I'll just pop off in my sleep when my "best used before" date is up. Knowing that I probably won't be so lucky, I want the option of taking my leave in at least a 'slightly' dignified way when that time should arrive.

On that theme, I shall also make sure I have DNR (Do not resuscitate) tattooed on me somewhere (as well as having a written statement somewhere, I guess) in the event that I should be comatosed and diagnosed as brain dead, or similar...

Matter of fact, not being morbid, but as I have a whole heap of paper stuff to deal with at the moment, I am going to make sure that I get this written down officially, soonest.....

This will also take away any decision making from those closest to me, which, the way I see it, they shouldn't have to deal with.

Important topic Oldhand, thanks for bringing it up.

Ros

There was an attempt to legalise assisted suicide in the UK but it failed. Dignitas gave evidence to a House Of Lords Committee and details of this are on there website here. There's also a very moving story from Bella magazine about a British woman who ended her life in Switzerland.

It seems that the opposition to assisted suicide always goes back to religious beliefs which are imposed on us whether we believe in them or not.

Spot on - happens at all levels, really, from supermarket opening hours through to stopping someone's sufferring.

I am in favor of people deciding when they've have enough, given that there have been attempts to ease their pain and any depression/anxiety. That's probably the sound mind argument. I guess if someone refuses all such attempts, it's none of my business to decide for them.

Both of my parents - my mother in 1991 and my father just this summer, died under hospice care. Not active euthanasia, but there was an element of withdrawing treatment and providing comfort, and letting go by family members. I do believe that people need to be able to make an informed choice and have autonomy about the end of their lives. Equally with having access to hospice care, or euthanasia, family members and friends need to respect those choices and let the dying go.

I don't think I'd want to go to a flat though.



e.

I can't see why anyone would be opposed to it for someone else...

That's it in a nutshell for me Shell, most of the problems with the idea of Dignitas is not raised by those who wish to go. It's those who are witnessing (or reading about) someone else's choice.
I feel it's a cultural thing. In some societies death is celebrated (respected) as part of the cycle of life, in our culture the whole thing seems to be a taboo.

Someone mentioned about going into a house to die, hospitals are houses, many of us come out of those in a coffin. Not always with our dignity intact.

I don't get this! There seems to be zero arguments against the legalization of euthanasia! Everyone wants it, or has no opinion! If the fella on the street wants to end his life, how in anyway is that going to effect me????

What i do hate is governments wasting public tax payers money discussing such matters! What is there to discuss? JUST DO IT!

This feels like it is some job creation scheme for those dodgy politicians!

Again, coming back to the China issue - a friend of mine here was involved with facilitating a transplant case between a chinese inmate and a singaporean women! The operation would give the woman only another 6 month of life and of course it would be taken away from the inmate.

The operation went ahead!

The only thing i don't agree with in this case is the multiple middle men, making making a few bucks in the deal!

Sorry, you got me going on this one! Having spent some time in India, it did open me up to the idea of death and how it is a parallel to birth, it is quite possibly the most natural thing you will ever do! The Buddhists almost laugh at us westerns when we put "death" in the taboo box! It is also the one thing that we all have in common regardless of our ethnic origins ! So why can't we talk about it?

I am a member of VES in the UK and have a credit card sized advanced directive in my purse. I am seriously thinking of having a tattoo on my chest with do not resucitate written. My living will is with my GP in the UK and our solicitor, tragically my husband would do everything in his power to keep me alive which to my mind is tantamount to abuse. Having been a nurse for many years, I have seen the outcomes of resus and it is not always good. As far as death in other cultures is concerned, I think that westereners have a lot to learn from the Thais. Four or five day party, lots of music and drink and a jolly good way to send off the deceased, but, each to their own.

If you've ever seen anyone die, it is a perfectly natural process. Quite amazing. (This is of course a non-violent death). There is a lot of anecdotal (and probably research) evidence to suggest that when people close to the dying refuse to accept that death is near, or try to encourage them to fight on, death doesn't occur and the person often goes on in a lot of pain and agony.

Death really should be a celebration of the person's life, not the loss of the living.

I don't understand why religion stands in the way. Surely a loving God would not insist that anyone be kept in an inescapable state of prolonged suffering, rather than dying ?