Assisted dying bill Scotland

[vivdunstan]

Very sad to see the Scottish assisted dying bill voted against. Thinking of my dad tonight, and those like him, who suffered cruel and prolonged deaths from terminal disease, with totally inadequate palliative care, and would have dearly liked the option of assisted dying legislation.

And I find it really hard to read people posting about making life worth living instead. My dad died of pulmonary fibrosis, suffocating to death over two years hooked up permanently to oxygen. The last few months were agonising. People saying this haven't a clue how much some suffer. It is so cruel.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Most people do not grasp the reality of a fate worse than death, until they are in the midst of one -- and then it is too late. To trap someone in a suffering body is to torture them, which is evil.

Conversely, the fear that people will murder helpless victims using this type of law is also justified. That's why so many disabled people oppose it: their risk of abuse and murder is already elevated.

It's one of those situations where only a perfect response prevents people from getting hurt. Since humans aren't perfect, somebody always does. All we can do is the best we can do.

Re: Thoughts

[vivdunstan]

Many thanks. Yes it's a difficult situation all round.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Sometimes it helps just to validate each other.

[nineveh_uk]

I'm sorry your father went through that. My parents, who live in Scotland, are deeply disappointed that the bill didn't pass.

The concept of "palliative care" as a solution for everyone gets tossed around as if it were some sort of perfect solution that worked completely for everyone, in complete ignorance (at best) of the reality. Effective and compassionately delivered palliative care is an important medical resource, and a relative of mine experienced great relief from it towards the end of his life, but it is not actually magic.

[vivdunstan]

Yes there's a huge amount of faith in palliative care, and it can be a big shock for people to find out it isn't as good as they think.

[watervole]

So sad the Scottish bill failed too. My MP voted for the English bill - her father's death being a big factor.

My mother's death was horrible and drawn out over a whole month - my father insisted they keep her alive as long as possible. This was after they'd had to amputate a leg that had gangrene because her systems were all failing. She had non-stop delerium which was horrible to see - and must have been even worse to experience. They knew she was never going to leave the hospital alive.

A year before, when she was a little recovered from being very ill, she'd told me that she didn't want to be kept alive the next time.

Why do people think that their right to force me to live in pain/discomfort over-rides my wishes to not suffer?

I do not wish to block a hospital bed that might save someone else's life.


I do not want my family to have distressing last memories of me.

It's my DAMN life.

My wishes are recorded in my medical power of attorney - but until assisted dying is legal, they cannot be carried out.

[vivdunstan]

Virtual hugs. The vote result has been traumatising for many people with awful experiences.

[andrewducker]

I'm sorry about how it happened too.

I am glad to see that it had more support than any of the previous times it came to the Scottish Parliament. I hope that support continues to grow.

[vivdunstan]

Unfortunately it lost support between the initial successful vote and final vote. Quite a lot of MSPs switched to the other side. But yes, let's hope for the future. But that's too slow for many people.