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[Viral_Jim]

I fervently hope that by the time I reach old age the assisted dying issue is settled and I can go at a time and in a way of my choosing.

I believe it should be legalised with appropriate and stringent safeguards in place. In my view, obtaining a high court order would be sufficient. There is a world of difference between someone going to the high court, stating their case and being allowed to be helped to die and a world where you have doctors offing old people because they "believe they're being a burden".

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Safeguards are usually eroded away to become pretty meaningless as time goes on. Take for example the UK abortion laws.
A young David Steel made a very impassioned speech in the commons in the 60,s to convince them that it needed to be legalised in order to protect the small number of woman who were desperate enough to put their lives at risk in dangerous back street abortion clinics.
He won the debate and the law was changed.
20 years after that, despite all the advances in contraception, abortions were taking place in the hundreds of thousands per year.
Today, despite even further advances in contraception, very senior people in the medical profession are currently trying to change the law that a woman can choose to abort up to the point where she goes into labour, as that is her basic human right.
I doubt David Steel intended this to be the outcome, but thats how these things tend to end up, once the militant tendency of the particular protest issue gain influence.
Its not that big a stretch of the imagination to see a society in say 100 years time, where the only really elderly people are those who have plenty of money, and offspring who aren't desperate to get their grubby mits on it.
Going back to the case of my father. One member of the family (who systematically robbed him blind) would definitely have manipulated him into this course of action if the law allowed it.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

When a person is clearly at the end of the line it is usually the case that food and all fluids are withdrawn. At this point (the point of no return) there should be the option that the family, after discussion with senior doctors, can make the decision to end it quickly by means a simple injection.

This is not currently allowed and any attempt to do so would be classed as murder.


I have experienced this exact scenario twice now.  My FIL lasted for nine days before forced starvation and lack of any water finally finished him. Why this cruel and barbaric system is considered preferable to a quick and dignified end is a mystery to me.

 

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Fair point, which I wouldn't disagree with. 

[New POD]

To be fair, our dog is dragging out his last few months, and I'm going to struggle taking him on that final visit to the Vet, so I don't think I could book a coach trip to Switzerland for my Dad, or feed him crushed cherry seeds either.