Assisted Death - Has a place but only in special circumstances

Should you be able to choose when to die?

TV presenter and Journalist Esther Rantzen has advanced lung cancer and there has been much media coverage on her story regarding assisted suicide. I support her views. The law must be changed that in certain circumstances ending a life is an option.

It is illogical that humans can be prosecuted for allowing an animal to suffer and indeed can also be allowed to euthanise sick animals, yet a human cannot legally despatch another human where there is no hope of cure. We all know it does go on though, allegedly dosing up people with Morphine until they peg out. It is that no one talks about it.

We have seen a number of reported cases of people with advanced health deterioration where there is no possibility of a cure, not wanting to burden the care system or their family, knowing they will eventually succumb to their medical condition and wanting to end their lives.

Stupid religious dogma assisted by the English Law means that you cannot be medically assisted to die and that means a person can be prosecuted for helping a friend or relative travel to a facility abroad where assisted suicide is legal.

When a medical case is terminal, and no obvious cure is available and the quality of there person's life will soon go or has gone, there is no real argument for prolonging that human life in my view if the patient can make a reasoned decision and wants to end their own misery. In fact many medical subjects do not want their life prolonged in this situation.

Of course this situation is open to abuse, which is why this is now a time to have this legal conversation and change the law. 

There is a vast difference in legalised euthanasia in certain circumstances that is well apart from ordinarily coercing or assisting a person to commit suicide. The two are entirely different situations.

As for religion, it does not seeming prevent death.

There is no death, just a change of worlds -

American Indian wisdom

If you have had an out of body experience, you will see your Earth body below you and your spirit in a transparent form as you leave this vessel. I've had this experience myself as have many on the operating table in medical rooms.

Humans do not die completely, only the two footed vehicle that we used to get around stops functioning. The spirit goes on. 

Outdated and wrong religious dogma prevent meaningful progress on this issue, it is about time that the nettle was grasped and the law was changed.