Has the time come for
I’VE seen elderly relatives and friends in pain and suffering, unable to exercise what should be a human right to let go and find peace. Right-to-life campaigners ignore the fact that medical science has taken us beyond our naturally allotted time. Let it be a personal choice when to die, supervised by an appropriate authority. For compassion’s sake, if it is our choice, help us to go gently into the good night.
SYLVIA PINN, St Tudy, Cornwall.
DR MAX PeMbeRton says: ‘We mustn’t dodge the issue of assisted dying any longer.’ neither must we dodge the danger that legalised euthanasia could so easily go the way of abortion laws. I fear euthanasia would become routine, the fight for life replaced by a duty to die. tread carefully: once opened, this door will not be easily closed.
G. HOLWILL, Exeter, Devon. MY AUNT recently died after a protracted illness during which I witnessed her terrible suffering, despite the
best efforts of her palliative care team. I have owned many pets and if I had allowed any of them to linger and suffer the way my aunt did, I would have been prosecuted for cruelty.
MAGGIE BARRETT, Sanderstead, Surrey. WE HAVE to be so careful when it comes to assisting people to die. Abortion was supposed to be rigidly controlled, but it has become like going to have a tooth out. My husband had dementia and I would have done anything to stop his misery, but was that for his benefit or mine?
DIANE SIMSON, Canvey Island, Essex. WHAT right has someone living a normal life to say that people in unbearable pain should not be allowed to end their suffering? It is an unfair argument to say people can already choose not to be treated, as though patients on painkilling treatment would prefer to live in agony if it meant shortening their lives. If assisted dying was legalised, every case would be assessed by a panel of experts. NORMAN WANSTALL,
Burford, Shropshire. I’M IN my early 80s, healthy and with a good quality of life. Why can’t I sign a legal document stating my end of life requirements? If dealt with properly, this subject need not be a problem.
JOAN FROST, Peterborough, Cambs.
MY 99-YEAR-OLD mother was given compassionate care after a rapid decline. She received a morphine/ midazolam infusion, which I feel was euthanasia by the back door. It was what she would have wanted.
I AM in my 90s and do not feel I have quality of life, even though I dearly love my extended family. I am not extremely ill, but have at least ten ailments, some of which give me great discomfort. Euthanasia should be available for anyone who chooses to die because they are tired of life or are in pain.