I wish this option had been available to my Mum who finally passed away aged 53 after 18 months in hell, unable to feed herself or take herself to the toilet.
She used to beg my Dad to put a pillow over her face and put an end to it all.
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Maryâs pretty hot.
OhâŚis she?
Doctors already âassistâ patients to die in every state and hospital in Australia. This will widen the scope of that practice as it will cover more types of suffering and it will speed up the process of dying.
Currently, patients who are not expected to live much longer, and are unable to drink without assistance, at some point âhave treatment removedâ which means they are allowed to dehydrate and die. They could be kept alive longer using IV drips or waking them and getting them to drink.
Given removing treatment at some point is normal practice, it is not a big step to allow these same patients to die more quickly. I think the significant change is for those that suffer and still have a significant time to live (up to 12 months) who will be allowed to choose to die immediately.
Having seen someone take 9x days to die after having food and fluids removed is something Iâll never forget. Seeing the despair of the staff wonât leave me easily either.
9 days is a long time. The other difficult component of assisted dying (without euthanasia laws) is the use of drugs such as morphine at levels that keep the patient mostly asleep.
My feeling is that the new law is not a great moral leap as these decisions (that âenableâ death) are already being made regularly by doctors and family, but the tools being used do not result in immediate death. The new law will bring forward death for some, and give the patient the opportunity to initiate the decision.
I know what you are getting at but will just add that it does not state anywhere in the Bible that euthanasia (or suicide if you will) is wrong (and specifically at times, the taking of a life which is even more closely linked to the words against suicide). It says murder is wrong and people have then used that to say suicide is wrong.
Life is sacred so I am against the death penalty (although there are times and stories that make me waver on that) or murder of any kind. So I would be against a doctor taking a life on principle (internally, not protesting and yelling obscenities and all that jazz) but I am not against a person ending their own suffering and I can certainly understand it.
One issue that doesnât get spoken about much in this debate is that, imo, we are too eager to keep people alive, we prolong their suffering by reviving them and treating them and using machines to keep them alive. If left alone would they die and is that a preferable thing? If a person is in a vegetative state and isnât going to ever âliveâ again, then why are we keeping them there and tied down? Some cannot let go and try to keep them there out of selfishness (understandable but selfish).
We put a thing in place at the nursing home for my mum and dad and with their approval: if they are going, make them comfortable but donât try to keep them alive. For my mum, that was good and she passed away after a few years of terrible dementia that she knew was happening to her. Why prolong that just so she isnât gone for us?
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I think a choice to decide is a good idea. Some of the things people have to go through in there last months is heartbreaking not to mention the family members who have to go through it with them.
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Thatâs a reasonable and fair position.
Iâm glad that in trying circumstances, everyone got what they valued.
My sister and both parents recieved a âhelping handâ unofficially when the end was in sight.
This is a good thing and a solid step forward towards an empathetic and intelligent society.
There are also a lot of perfectly healthy people I would like to assist with dying, but thats a whole other story.
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Death is a perfectly natural thing, as natural as life.
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And of course all the churches are against it. It must be a good thing then.
Doctors and nursing staff have been looking after terminally ill people for a very long time. Often it is the family who refuse to allow more of whatever it takes to help the person move into another space and leave. My Mum asked the Doctor when I was not there to please not to drag it out.
The Doctor then took me aside and told me my Mumâs bowel was blocked by a tumour, he said he could operate to clear the blockage. I asked, why would you do that, will it save or prolong her life? He said yes it will prolong her life but only by about three weeks. I wondered how many people take up this option.
I said, forget it give her as much as it takes. He looked at me and said, âdo you know what you are asking me?â I said yes, its what she wants and if I could do it for her I would because that is what she asking for. She died peacefully the following afternoon after saying her goodbyes.
I have seen people kept alive and suffer. Why? I have no idea. I watched my father gasping for his last breath and I thought there must be a better way than this. There is.
I understand why some people with unbearable pain and terminal illnesses take their own lives because they do not want to continue. Good on you Victoria, at last some common sense which allows people to choose and die with dignity. To die well we must also know how to live well.
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I look forward to when the conscientious objection at a facility level is made illegal.
There will have to be doctors working at catholic hospitals who, across the next 5 years, will see a patient suffering and individually want to help but are prohibited by their employer.
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Essendon have been involved in the assisted killing of its supporters belief, enthusiasm and enjoyment for 15 years.
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Yeah but how about them learnings 
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Are they? Can you prove that or is just a assumption/bias you run with?
Actually thought this thread was in the hangar.
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Series 3 of Mary Kills People is now on SBS On Demand.
Iâm still working through season 1.
Speaking of dying, youâd have watched The Revenant by now?
No.
Maryâs daughterâs friend gives me the irrits.