Should people given the right to die?

[Rainbow]

Should people be allowed to have the right to die when diagnosed with a terminal, or life limiting illness?

[Yogi001]

Yes, I think so.

It is a difficult one, because when do you time it to be the right time? What if someone is having a bad day and says...'today, let's do it', but maybe tomorrow things will be different and they will feel different.

Anyway, overall, I say yes. But, I think the finer detail needs to be ironed out.

[Tanya]

I agree with yogi001, I think everyone should have the right to die. We do not allow animals suffer, but we are quite happy to watch a human suffer, it makes no sense.

BUT!.... how does the right time get defined? A bad day is not necessarily the way it is going to be, should we act on those days?
Who decides on the day?

Unfortunately, there are too many finer points surrounding this issue to ever get it passed, but if it does happen then the whole thing will be parcelled up in so much red tape that the experience of achieving someone's wish worsens their quality of life in the final days!

[Jade26]

Whenever people have tried to get assisted dying through parliament they have been close to dying, and invariably die a few weeks/months later.

I presume that whilst they still have fight in them for that, they would not choose that stage to take up the opportunity of assisted dying if it were available....so the question comes is when would the right time be, and in real terms how much are they really reducing their life by?...I would suggest days to a couple of weeks.

With that in mind with it worth it? The amount of red tape a family would have to go through would be astronomical and on that basis is it fair to them? At a time that they should be concentrating on quality time with the dying person, they spend that time frustrated by a system. I use that young girl wishing to cryogenically frozen... her mother spent the time dealing with her daughters wish on her death bed instead of the last few moments of her life.

[sophie]

I think humans are a weird bunch, we think it is perfectly acceptable to end the life of an animal, to prevent them from suffering, but not a human.

Where is the common sense?

[Dannij]

No, I know that sounds harsh and I don't want people to suffer. But I think allowing people to choose when to die potentially puts them at risk.

What if they are unable to talk for themselves and someone has had enough of them and just bumps them off! I don't think it's right.

[Alison66]

I don't think it's as simple as that. If such a law existed, it wouldn't give people free reign to bump someone off.
There would be paperwork to fill in and a doctor or two would be involved...... well, at least I hope it would be.

[Kellyjames]

I think this concept is a strange one. Surely one would question why wouldn't someone have the right to die? It is their body, their life and their suffering.
We have the right to end the suffering of animals, and the right to end life in a war situation, why wouldn't a person have the right to die when they are terminally ill and suffering.

I think it is wrong that it is not allowed.

[Tom32]

I think allowing people the right to die allows the individual to take back some control over their lives. Often ill health means they are subject to tests and indignities, the right to choose when and where and with whom is vitally important.

Such a right would only affect a few types of illnesses anyway, so very few people would benefit from such a law, and then there would only be a small percentage that are brave enough to go through with it.