Anyone else done an Archbishop ?

[MrGongGong]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/12/archbishop-canterbury-carey-support-assisted-dying-proposal

[french frank]

"I would have paraded all the usual concerns about the risks of 'slippery slopes' and 'state-sponsored euthanasia'. But those arguments which persuaded me in the past seem to lack power and authority when confronted with the experiences of those approaching a painful death.

"It fails to address the fundamental question as to why we should force terminally ill patients to an unbearable point. It is the magnitude of suffering that has been preying on my mind as the discussion over the right to die has intensified."

[amateur51]

All power to the Archbish.

I just feel it's a shame that his concern for human suffering has never extended to lesbian & gay people but on the basis of this evidence I live in hope.

"There is more rejoicing in Heaven ..." etc

[MrGongGong]

I don't trust us

[Serial_Apologist]

If I were lying, totally incapacitated and heading for a most terrible end I could do nothing about, or ability to signal my wish for somebody to end it all, I wouldnt be that bothered as to others' motives for possibly wanting me out of the way.

[Ferretfancy]

All power to the Archbish.

I just feel it's a shame that his concern for human suffering has never extended to lesbian & gay people but on the basis of this evidence I live in hope.

"There is more rejoicing in Heaven ..." etc

Don't hope too much Ams, even by the prevailing lamentable standards, Carey was probably the most stupid archbishop for a very long time, and will probably change his opinion if it suits.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

If a horse or a pet were in great pain with no hope of recovery, we would want to put it out of its misery, but when it's a human being, we don't seem to care.

[Serial_Apologist]

If a horse or a pet were in great pain with no hope of recovery, we would want to put it out of its misery, but when it's a human being, we don't seem to care.

And yet the irony is that we allegedly treat human life as more important than that of other animals, some of which we are prepared to experiment with new drugs on in the hope that our suffering will end or lives be saved.

[Petrushka]

But where to draw the line? What definition could be used for 'totally incapacitated'? Once the door is open, even by the tiniest amount there is no shutting it again. To mix metaphors, a line will have been crossed and we all know how safe 'safeguards' turn out to be.

I am against.

[P. G. Tipps]

But where to draw the line? What definition could be used for 'totally incapacitated'? Once the door is open, even by the tiniest amount there is no shutting it again. To mix metaphors, a line will have been crossed and we all know how safe 'safeguards' turn out to be.

Precisely.

There is a rather alarming naivety attached to those who actually believe the nice Lord Falconer's claims that 'proper safeguards' will be in place and, not to worry our little heads, it will end there.

It never does (witness abortion-on-demand and ever-extended shopping hours).

Why should any new euthanasia laws be the sole exception to the inevitable 'slippery slope'?

[jean]

... (witness abortion-on-demand...)

You mean a woman's right to choose.

The idea of making a doctor or two the arbiter of a woman's decision was never going to be satisfactory.

Talk of slippery slopes, aka thin ends of wedges, is therefore not apposite in this case.

Shopping hours probably belong in a different category.

[Flosshilde]

Perhaps the experience of other places that allow assisted dying might be valuable. A letter in the Guardian (responding to an editorial) points out that in Oregon, which has allowed assisted dying for 17 years, one in 50 people discuss it with their doctor but that only one in 500 (0.2%) actually taking it up - a rate that has been steady in the 17 years. Hardly floodgates.

[jean]

I think we should remember that we have become much more careful than we used to be about administering a level of drug necessary for pain control for fear it might hasten death.

Years ago when my aunt was terminally ill and her doctor (who was a relative) said I will not let her suffer, we knew what that meant.

[MrGongGong]

There is a rather alarming naivety attached to those who actually believe the nice Lord Falconer's claims that 'proper safeguards' will be in place and, not to worry our little heads, it will end there.

We don't do "safeguards" in the UK very well when it comes to some of the most vulnerable do we ?

[amateur51]

I think we should remember that we have become much more careful than we used to be about administering a level of drug necessary for pain control for fear it might hasten death.

Years ago when my aunt was terminally ill and her doctor (who was a relative) said I will not let her suffer, we knew what that meant.

Improved pain management and palliative care are often held up as alternatives to assisted suicide by those opposed to it. Sadly almost all the drugs that cut pain quite dramatically also cause terrible constipation and poor breathing and so death is hastened in another largely uncontrollable and probably uncomfortable way. Is that really a better way?