TOPIC:

I've just read the story about the man who has Motor Neuron disease, and how he wants to die, but the courts won't let him!
This is a topic that I feel very strongly about!
When an animal is suffering, no one has a problem with 'putting it to sleep' to end it's suffering, we all agree that it is in the best interest of the animal because letting it suffer would be cruel!
But, when it comes to a human being who is suffering, and wants to end their life, the 'Right to lifers' jump in and say, 'Oh No, that person has the right to live!'
Yes, of course they have the right to live, no one is denying that, what they are being denied is the right to die, and you cannot have one without the other, otherwise living is not a right!
It is like saying that voting is a right, but if it is compulsory, then it is not a right!?
People should have the right to chose what is best for themselves, no one has the right to choose for them!
Doctors pledge to ease suffering or to cure, but if they are unable to do either, and their patient is suffering and wants to end their life, then it should be a Doctors duty to help them, not to play "God' and force the person to continue to suffer!
I can think of nothing worse than being frail, in constant pain and wanting it to end, and having someone tell me that I have to continue to suffer because other people who I don't even know want me to suffer because it goes against THEIR beliefs!?
A few years back here in Australia,it was in the news that a young woman in her 20's was dying, I can't remember what was wrong, but she was in constant chronic pain and she had only days to live!
She begged the Doctors to end her her suffering, and they said No!
She died a couple of days later, her bowel shut down and she died vomiting up her own faeces!
I was disgusted, she could have ended her life with dignity and without suffering, but she was forced to live that bit longer and to die in a horrible way that was totally avoidable!
I challenge any 'Right to lifer' to tell me that it was acceptable to let that young woman suffer in that way!
I would like to see them in the same situation, or to have someone they love in that situation, and then see how they feel!?

I am not in any way condoning the assisted suicide of just anyone who decides that they want to die, if a person is suffering from Depression and their situation can be helped, then of course it would be wrong!
I speak from personal experience, I suffer from Depression and in the past I tried to end my life!
Sometimes I am glad that I didn't succeed, and sometimes I wish I had succeeded!?

But, I am talking about people who are suffering from severe disability or illness and suffer from constant pain or are unable to care for themselves and their quality of life is nil and they genuinely want their suffering to end!
It should be their basic 'human right' to die when and how they decide!

As a Christian I cannot subscribe to such, playing god is dangerous.

jj~ are you saying that you do believe that people should be allowed to die with dignity and without suffering, or that you don't believe that people should be allowed to die with dignity and without suffering? If you believe that Doctors should keep people alive with drugs and machines and make them continue to suffer against their will, then THAT is playing God!
Not that I believe in God, because I don't, but that's a debate for another day!
If there was a loving and merciful God, there wouldn't be so much suffering in the world, but then some people say he is a vengeful God, and going by the Bible, he has caused a Hell of a lot of suffering Himself!?
As a person of reasonable intelligence, I cannot believe in such primitive, superstitious Crap!
I'm not trying to force my beliefs on others, everyone has the right to their own beliefs and if believing in God helps some people to get through the day, fine, as long as they don't force their beliefs on others, which is what many people do, and when it comes to the basic human right of a person wanting to end their own suffering, NO ONE has the right to force their beliefs on that person! Everyone has the right to live their own life their own way, without interference from others, who as far as I'm concerned, must have very sad and miserable lives if they have nothing better to do than try to control other peoples lives!?

I'd like to point out that whenever I see a story in the news of a child being brutally raped and murdered, Christians always say, "Oh, God loved that child so much that he wanted them in Heaven with Him!"
Really!?
What sort of God wants a child to die at all, let alone in such a way?
And if it were true, then doesn't that mean that a person dying with a terminal illness is God's will because he wants them with Him!?

Again, I'm not trying to force my beliefs, but I would like people to examine their beliefs and realize that there is a lot of lying, hypocrisy and hiding from the truth in religion!

I due agree with Joel as I believe people should have the right to die, but I feel that it needs to be done properly with maybe a letter done with a solicitor and family members being involved so they know about it and when the time comes it's done with respect. People who are living with a terminal illness that causes debilitating pain and will be a slow demise should have the right to die and I stand by that.

How is it illegal to let a pet or farm/zoo animal suffer when I'll but not when its human with far more insight into how they feel? Its because most laws in the west are based on bible rules and that's why suicide is illegal its time we grew up and got real

Who am I to judge or make your opinion law of the land or a right?
NO, I am not going to take that role.
Your saying Christian VS atheist

No I'm saying compassion human decency and freedom of choice over outdated unfair and blinkered laws

In the USA I find no outdated laws....
WE have a full time ethics Department of Respected Doctors in the field

God bless america

No, I'm saying it's some Christians against anyone who doesn't agree with their beliefs and trying to force their beliefs on others!
There are many religions all calling themselves Christians, and they don't all agree with each other, and they see other religions such as Judaism or Islam as wrong, which is pretty stupid considering that 'Jesus', who Christians pray to, was in fact, a JEW, and I figure if God chose a Jewish woman to give birth to his son, then they must be his Chosen People!? Christianity and Islam are just offshoots of Judaism, and they didn't exist in 'Jesus's' time! They came into being because when people don't agree with what they are being told in church, they go out and start their own!
It's still happening today, there are new 'churches' popping up all the time because someone doesn't like what their Pastor/Minister is preaching so they start their own church, it's happening here in my own country!
Anyway, my point is that there is too much religious freedom, too many people use their religion to hurt others and to try to force others to live according their own beliefs!
Religion should not play a part in making laws that affect everyone, because not everyone shares those beliefs, everyone has the right to their own beliefs and to live and die by their own beliefs, as long as they aren't hurting others!
I'd like to point out that unlike Mormons, Jehovah's etc, atheists do NOT go around knocking on people's doors or going into their place of business and try to shove their beliefs down other people's throats!
In my country it is now illegal for power supply companies to have people cold call and try to get people to switch supplier, and it should be the same for religions!
I wonder how happy Jehovah's would be if I knocked on their door and tried to 'recruit' them!?
To finish, Andywil 1970 said a lot with just one sentence, COMPASSION and HUMAN DECENCY, 2 things which I would have thought were things that Christians believe in, but then I have found that often Christians tend to be hypocrites and that what they preach only applies to their own congregation, and everyone else can go to Hell!?

We should have the right to die if we want to die! But the person should know what dying means first!

exactly!!