Off-topic chat. May contain offensive language or images.
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By foot-loose
#404988
There have been a few news reports about family members helping loved ones who are very ill to die. What's peoples thoughts on this?
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By pjordan2000
#404989
I agree with the law being passed in this country to allow Assisted Suicides but I think it needs to be controlled in the way other European Countries (Switzerland being one I believe) whereby there are special clinics for it to take place and only for it to be permitted at these places.
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By MK Chris
#404990
I feel very strongly that it should be allowed. If someone's quality of life is such that they do not wish to go on living, of course they should have the choice to end their life. If your pet gets very ill and its quality of life is completely degraded, you would have it put out of its misery; why do humans not get the choice to dignify the end of their life with the same thing?
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By Yudster
#404999
I wouldn't support it personally. I completely understand the concept that when life has become intolerable because of illness then a person will want the choice as to whether to continue or not, but I simply don't think the lines can ever be clear enough to produce effective legislation on this point. I'm not sure it would be possible to determine a legal definition for who would and wouldn't be allowed to avail themselves of it. I suppose people will say that its a personal choice for the individual, but I'm unconvinced - someone in constant pain who can't move unaided or feed themselves without help might feel that way - so might someone who has just been dumped by the love of their life and is depressed. And all that is before you get to how you stop families simply disposing of inconvenient elderly and infirm relatives that they are fed up with looking after - and you KNOW that would happen.

I do however think that its inevitable that we will move towards a greater tolerance of assisted suicide. If my mum was incapable, in pain, unable to live a decent quality of life, then I think she would probably want to do that. I wouldn't help her though. I'd get her all the help I could to keep her out of pain and help her live with dignity - but I wouldn't help her kill herself. I think my brother would, and whilst our views on this are diametrically opposite, I wouldn't stand in his way if he genuinely thought it was the right thing to do. At the end of the day it would be her decision, just one I couldn't help with.
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By English Bob
#405006
I support assisted suicide. I also think it should be heavily regulated though, and only used for people who are at the end of their roads, not merely for depressed people using it to kill themselves etc.

I suppose I am slightly biased in regards to the issue, as my Grandma suffered from Alzheimers until her death. It was a horrible thing to go through. When it first manifested, she had to be moved into a home, as she couldn't look after herself anymore. However, over the years her memory was just like a hard drive slowly being deleted, until she had no memories left. By the end stages the only people who would visit her at the home were my Mum and Aunt, and they hated doing it. Everyone else (me included) wouldn't go as it was so distressing to see a loving relative of yours reduced to a shell, blank eyes peering at you with not a hint of recognition.

I'm not ashamed to say it, but when my Grandma died, the whole extended family felt better for it, as we had already said goodbye to the Grandma we knew many, many years ago. It would have been far kinder to have let her die when she still had a shred of herself left, rather than let her live out the last years of her life as a shell. I know for sure that if I was ever diagnosed with Alzheimers, I would NOT want to go through what my Grandma went through in her final years.

Phew, that was quite an intense post, sorry!
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By English Bob
#405051
Well, looks like my time on this forum is at an end. Genuinely upset by what you posted Beadle, you really don't care about people's emotions/feelings.

Bye everyone! No doubt Beadle will respond with a witty 'Good riddance, you weren't funny/interesting anyway!' post. *sigh*
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By Yudster
#405052
This is still just a message board isn't it? No-one made it into something significant to real life while I wasn't looking?
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By foot-loose
#405053
English Bob wrote:Well, looks like my time on this forum is at an end. Genuinely upset by what you posted Beadle, you really don't care about people's emotions/feelings.

Bye everyone! No doubt Beadle will respond with a witty 'Good riddance, you weren't funny/interesting anyway!' post. *sigh*

It's the internet, Bob. While it might be personal, you can't take it seriously. I'm sure this forum has a block feature if you don't like someones posts.
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By Nicola_Red
#405054
There is a block feature, but if you were only blocking one person and other people responded to that person's posts, I guess a whole thread might cease to make any sense to you. I really think people shouldn't have to block each other tho...

anyway. I'm honestly not sure what I think about assisted suicide. It's such a tough issue, and I am a Christian, so I sort of feel like we shouldn't be making the decisions as to who lives and dies. But if I was in that position or had a close relative in it, I don't know if I would still think that. And it's true that regulating it would be a nightmare. So...I dunno.
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By Johnny 1989
#405055
English Bob wrote:Well, looks like my time on this forum is at an end. Genuinely upset by what you posted Beadle, you really don't care about people's emotions/feelings.

Bye everyone! No doubt Beadle will respond with a witty 'Good riddance, you weren't funny/interesting anyway!' post. *sigh*


Bob, not sure if you're entirely being serious but just ignore old Beadle, he's just upset that Beadle's About never got another series.
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By DevilsDuck
#405056
He is also upset that on the one hand his * is massive......on the other hand it looks tiny!
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By Yudster
#405065
Beadle Poke wrote:Beadle poke is dead. The admin killed him because he made english bob cry.

I made English Bob cry once too. Its really not difficult. Make Gaspode the Wonder Dog cry and then we'll talk.
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By DevilsDuck
#405079
Yudster wrote:
Beadle Poke wrote:Beadle poke is dead. The admin killed him because he made english bob cry.

I made English Bob cry once too. Its really not difficult. Make Gaspode the Wonder Dog cry and then we'll talk.


I made Viv cry once!

How did you make Gaspode cry?
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By MK Chris
#405084
DevilsDuck wrote:I made Viv cry once!

Console did that many times.
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By DevilsDuck
#405085
Topher wrote:
DevilsDuck wrote:I made Viv cry once!

Console did that many times.


Hmmm

Good point, I made foots eyes water, but thats another story
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By Yudster
#405089
DevilsDuck wrote:
Yudster wrote:
Beadle Poke wrote:Beadle poke is dead. The admin killed him because he made english bob cry.

I made English Bob cry once too. Its really not difficult. Make Gaspode the Wonder Dog cry and then we'll talk.


I made Viv cry once!

How did you make Gaspode cry?

I didn't, I have no such delusions of power. I was just putting him up there as a worthy challenge for someone who thinks that making people on the internet cry is always as easy as that.
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By Yudster
#405093
When the challenge is Gaspode, I think I'm safe from that criticism whichever way you look at it.