Terry Pratchett: Assisted suicide

I dont agree with assisted suicide and what dignitas offers but i want to say that i have been moved by this documentry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0120dxp/Terry_Pratchett_Choosing_to_Die/

Am strongly in favour of it myself.

It's all about individual choice and I think that under certain circumstances, suffering from terminal illness for example, it is an option that should be available to all who chose it.

Of course, many safeguards need to be in place and the issue of assisted suicide thoroughly thought out and discussed with professionals beforehand.   

Haven't seen the clip you posted Shabs but, I have heard Terry pratchett discuss this topic before and I know that there are many very ill people out there that are grateful that a high profile person is raising this subject in the media. Of course, there have been other high profile cases in the media too and there will continue to be as long as the law stays at it is, which, in my opinion is very wrong.

Just out of interest Shabs and don't answer this if you don't want to, I understand it's quite a personal question. Is the reason you are against it based on religion or just your own belief set apart from religion?

I'm a massive fan of Terry Pratchett and I have all of his disc world novels, I've been watching a documentary on Sky about his battle with Alzheimers and I made a few comments about it on twitter in the last couple of weeks.

RedLFCBlood Darryl
#Nowwatching Terry Pratchett in his fight with Alzheimer's struggling to do up his tie, took 7 attempts to do what he used to do in 1 go.
6 Jun Favorite Reply Delete

RedLFCBlood Darryl
Such a shame to see a very talented Author degenerate in the manner he is.

RedLFCBlood Darryl
Watched a program about Terry Pratchett's battle with Alzheimer's last night and what a brave man he is, enormous respect for the man.

RedLFCBlood Darryl
He went to a book signing to mark the 25th anniversary of his disc world series & couldn't even spell his own name, but stuck at it.

So watching this man, who is still of sound mind making a decision on how he would like to end his life before he degenerates to the point of not being able to do anything for himself is a reasonable request after all it is his life.

I'm fully supportive of assisted suicides myself, I know I wouldn't want to live my life bed ridden, suffering the indignity of not being able to do anything for myself.

Lets be honest that's not a life its just living.

Just out of interest Shabs and don't answer this if you don't want to, I understand it's quite a personal question. Is the reason you are against it based on religion or just your own belief set apart from religion?

Dave its a bit of both but to be honest its i lean more towards my own belief,im very pro life when it comes to issues such as abortion & assisted suicide.

So watching this man, who is still of sound mind making a decision on how he would like to end his life before he degenerates to the point of not being able to do anything for himself is a reasonable request after all it is his life.

I'm fully supportive of assisted suicides myself, I know I wouldn't want to live my life bed ridden, suffering the indignity of not being able to do anything for myself.

Lets be honest that's not a life its just living.

Completely agree with you Daz, the thought of spending your final few years of life stuck in a home, not being able to feed yourself or go to the toilet without assistance horrifies me. I'd sooner die young.

Completely agree with you Daz, the thought of spending your final few years of life stuck in a home, not being able to feed yourself or go to the toilet without assistance horrifies me. I'd sooner die young.

At the point of when life dengenerates is it not the time then for the family to step in and support the ill person? i lost 2 uncles from diabetis 1 at the age of 50 and the 2nd at the age of 47 which caused gangorene & mutiple amputations for both of them but they wanted to live even though they needed 24 hour care,we as a family were very happy to provide the assistance.

What an incredibly moving and poignant documentary, and although it was upsetting in some ways, it was also uplifting.

The point that struck me most, was that if it was legal in the UK, both of the people who travelled to the clinic could well have had a good few years more with their loved ones, but travelled before they became too unwell.

The Doctor who performed the checks stated afterwards on the newsnight debate that if they had been swiss nationals, she would have sent them home as not being infirm enough to be considered, but with people travelling great distances, allowances had to be made.

I feel that it is the right of the individual to choose the manner of their death, and so I support assisted suicide, provided all the necessary safeguards are in place - the protection of a terminally ill person is placed above their own wishes, and self determination takes a backseat to the western "sanctity of life" argument, which is based on religious teachings.

In other words, in order to appear morally superior, western governments don't consider the suffering of the individual, and their right to determine the 2nd most important moment of their life - the manner of their death.

At the point of when life dengenerates is it not the time then for the family to step in and support the ill person? I lost 2 uncles from diabetis 1 at the age of 50 and the 2nd at the age of 47 which caused gangorene & mutiple amputations for both of them but they wanted to live even though they needed 24 hour care,we as a family were very happy to provide the assistance.

But they wanted to live, you said. Thats different. The choice should still be there.

I am in full support of assisted suicide. F**k the bleeding hearts who think they know it all, if someone is not happy to live on then its pretty unethical in my opinion to force them to be unhappy if they wish to end it.

I am in full support of assisted suicide. F**k the bleeding hearts who think they know it all, if someone is not happy to live on then its pretty unethical in my opinion to force them to be unhappy if they wish to end it.

Are you reffering to me?

For what it's worth: I'd rather go with some dignity and when I wanted than to be lying in my own sh*t, raked with pain or not knowing my own name; whilst those who love me look on helpless. F**k that.

I've had a million and one discussions on the matter and it's not a case of being for or against but how for or how against are you.  It would be silly for me to say I'm pro assisted suicide because I don't believe for example a depressed 15 year old should have access to assisted suicide.  Having got that out of the way, I'm quite in favour of assisted suicide in similar medical conditions (degenerative illnesses where quality of life is affected so grossly, etc.) and for that exact reason I've placed my best friend (instead of my family members) as my next of kin and vice-versa.  He knows I'll pull the plug on him and he'll pull the plug on me.

I personally, don't want to be a burden on my family - I did a pretty good job of that growing up, so I don't plan on doing it later in life and I am completely aware that my parents are strongly against it, so I'm going to respect that decision.

I've just been watching the debate on newsnight again, and I saw the strangest thing that I had earlier overlooked.

There was a lady who has spent her life for disabled rights saying "why should we change the law because a minority of people want the law changed"

That could easily be said about the people she campaigns for.

There would be irony there if it wasn't so silly.

Dave its a bit of both but to be honest its i lean more towards my own belief,im very pro life when it comes to issues such as abortion & assisted suicide.

Fair enough mate. Although I see the abortion issue as a totally separate argument.

My point of view (not based on any religion) on assisted suicide. How can someone else have the right to determine how someone with any one of a number of degenerative illnesses should suffer and die? This should be up to the individual concerned and not based on someone else's view because of religion or just their personal belief.

I don't want to go into too much detail on a public forum but, I have experienced both from a personal family aspect and in the job I do, what some of the suffering can be like and to be asked by someone both close and also in my line of work, to let them die/assist them to die, as the suffering was too much and they have had enough of fighting, suffering, having no quality of life and knowing how awful the end could be for them (possibly end up choking to death for example) and I couldn't blame them one little bit for wanting this and if I could, I would have tbh, if it was legal. Sometimes it can seem the kindest/only thing you can do for them.

Of course, if it were to be legalised there are many safeguards that would need to be put in place to stop any form of abuse of the system whereas people could feel put under pressure from either family or health professionals by making them feel they are a burden, for example.

It's always something that from an early age, I've had an opinion on.  My mother worked in a care home for the elderly and infirm.  I used to have to meet her at work and spent many an evening either reading stories aloud or being regaled by stories of their lives.  It wasn't a large number, but a few openly expressed the wish to pass on, the indignity of having someone clean up after them or the other numerous ailments that caused them pain.  The effort they had to make, despite of all their problems, when relatives turned up was draining, not fun for them.  I watched as they deteriorated, people who'd made clear they wanted to go, people who were ready to go, but couldn't.

I've seen it happen as well.

Dignity means the right to choose.