Thursday, October 11, 2007

Euthanasia - my right to die

I want parliament to seriously debate the question of Euthanasia.

Question: Why do we see fit to put animals 'out of their misery' but fail to accept the same could be true of humans? We put animals down because it is in their best interests - they have no say but they still may wish to live.

I accept that Euthanasia is open to misuse - that is why it needs to be debated. There are a lot of people who agree in principle but are worried about it being misused. Fair enough.
I am not religious and if I decide while I have all my faculties that if I then get brain damaged or a degenerative disease that I want to be 'put out of my misery' when I reach a certain point, where's the harm?
The system as it stands is horrible - you are basically starved to death as we can't cope with the thought of killing someone - starving someone is obviously far more acceptable in the eyes of the law. It we can devise a system where you are given a lethal dose of something that kills in seconds then it needs to be discussed.

We need to devise a system that means that doctors who do not agree with euthanasia do not have to practice something they do not believe in.
We need to stop wasting money on prosecuting people who fly to suicide clinics in Switzerland with family who help them to commit suicide - and then get chucked out of court.

There will always be a debate about ethics - there still is about abortion. The bottom line in this country is that everyone should have the choice. As medical research progresses then yes laws are changed and adapted. But we can't legislate for things that may be discovered in 100 years time.

I do not believe in a God and so religious views should not be imposed on me.
I have the right to decide how and when I die - I can choose to let my God take me or I can make the decision myself. The right to make my own decision should not be taken from me just because I am physically or mentally unable to complete the process at that time.

GIVE ME THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE WHEN MY LIFE ENDS.

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