assisted suicide

[Special]

everyone should have a right to die if they wish

as long as it's in writing or on video that it's their wish to die i don't see why it should be anyone elses business

the only problem i can think of is that people will abuse it to cover up murder but there's ways around it

[Catchy]

I don't see the problem with it if the person is in severe pain and has no quality of life and wishes to die. It's their own choice.

[GommeInc]

On paper I am all for it. The only barrier is making your intentions clear and your intentions alone. If it were to be legalised then doctors would need to know as soon as possible if they should consider it an option if you fall so desperately ill that you cannot communicate this when it suddenly becomes too late. It shouldn't be for doctors to decide or family members as they may not have your best intentions to mind, for obvious legal reasons where it becomes assisted murder, such as inheritance or even just to kill you off on the lower end of the scale.

It's a very complex area of discussion, when you consider those who seem in a vegetative state yet can hear and understand you, and also feel pain - should they be killed through the choice of others, if their choice was not made clear before they entered that physical and mental? Car accidents happen all the time and people are left motionless, yet may not fully recover - that is not to say that they want to die, as they may of adapted to the change and essentially put up with a lack of speech and movement. Scanning for brain activity is still not reliable as far as I am aware - there was an interesting case a few years ago which involved a man in a vegetative state who heard family and doctors discussing plans while he was completely aware.

The general gist is that it can only work if the individual has expressed their intentions in person, in front of medical professionals, such as doctors and psychologists, and possibly those in a legal profession, that if worse comes to worse, they can consider euthanasia to end suffering, then it may work - but it does not write off the possibility of being pressured into it if you are severely disabled, by being considered to be a burden.

[geo]

We recently did this in RE and I really enjoyed learning about it. I do think it's your life and you should be able to chose what happens to them. You have the right to chose. It shouldn't be banned.

[Cerys]

Same view as everyone else; If you want to die, why stop you? It is your life, your choice.

The only problem is, you could be forced into making that decision. It would be loads easier to 'murder' someone, cos you can just force them to state that they want to be killed, whereas really they don't. If you see what I mean

[dbgtz]

In theory I'd advocate it for those who are unable to do it themselves, however it would have to be heavily regulated otherwise we could get more Dr. Shipmans.

[Daltron]

Ah in one of my criminal law classes we had a heated discussion on this, but after reading several cases about it, I can understand the need for it to be legal, as someone said before, we should be autonomous about our own bodies, the state should have no control on that part.