Posted on 07/10/2012 3:32:25 PM PDT by wagglebee
Dignity in Dying, the former Voluntary Euthanasia Society, is a world leader in this art and their new draft bill, championed by Lord Falconer, is a classic example.
Its only for the mentally competent, only for the terminally ill, only for adults they say.
There will be no killing of children, disabled people or demented people. Its all going to be strictly controlled.
In fact it is only the beginning for two main reasons.
The first is that DIDs position is ultimately illogical. Their main arguments, autonomy (its my right) and compassion (Im suffering unbearably), apply equally to some people who are not mentally competent, terminally ill adults. There are people who are not adults, not terminally ill or not mentally competent who claim they are suffering unbearably or who want to die.
Locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson is not terminally ill and celebrity novelist Terry Pratchett (pictured), who has Alzheimers, will soon not be mentally competent as a result of dementia. But they both want the right to die. On the other hand most terminally ill people do not want to die and are not suffering unbearably.
This means that if we legalise assisted suicide or euthanasia for those who are mentally competent terminally ill adults, the logic of the autonomy and compassion arguments will demand extension to other groups of people. Incremental extension is inevitable because the proposed legislation is actually discriminatory. It wont survive five minutes in its current form without a human rights challenge on grounds of equality. Once you have a right for some, it will be argued, it must be there for all.
The second problem is that there are already many ever-so-slightly-more-radical groups which are already pushing for extension beyond mentally competent terminally ill adults. SOARS and FATE want it for elderly people, terminally ill or not, and EXIT International (Philip Nitschkes outfit) says it should be available for the elderly bereaved and troubled teenagers.
In fact in the Times this week, celebrity novelist Terry Pratchett , a patron of Dignity in Dying who part-funded the defunct Falconer Commission, is saying that an exception should be made for Nicklinson who is not terminally ill and would require euthanasia and not assisted suicide (as he is not capable of killing himself even with assistance). So it seems that DID are unable to restrain the enthusiasm for extension of even their own patrons. I expect that Pratchett will also want an exception to be made for himself after he loses mental competence.
Pratchett argues as follows:
It appears that Lord Falconer of Thoroton and Tony Nicklinson are both stuck in the aspic of the law, which I quite understand. But surely, since Mr Nicklinson has a terrifying syndrome that none of us would ever wish to experience, one cant help but wonder whether the law can take second place to compassion?
Dr Peter Saunders has already pointed out twenty disturbing facts about assisted suicide and euthanasia in Europe that Terry Pratchett does not tell us in the course of his relentless campaigning.
Dont be fooled. The Voluntary Euthanasia Society may have changed its name but it has not changed its agenda. If they ever manage to get a bill passed by parliament which allows assisted suicide or euthanasia for anyone at all you can be sure that even before the ink is dry they will be clamouring for extension, and many will find the logic of the argument based on autonomy and compassion to be compelling.
Its best not to go there at all.
Any change in the law to allow assisted suicide or euthanasia would place pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden upon others. This would especially affect people who are disabled, elderly, sick or depressed.
Furthermore, persistent requests for euthanasia are extremely rare if people are properly cared for so our priority must be to ensure that good care addressing people’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs is accessible to all.
The present law making assisted suicide and euthanasia illegal is clear and right and does not need changing. The penalties it holds in reserve act as a strong deterrent to exploitation and abuse whilst giving discretion to prosecutors and judges in hard cases.
Hard cases, like that of Tony Nicklinson, make bad law. Even in a free democratic society there are limits to human freedom and the law must not be changed to accommodate the wishes of a small number of desperate and determined people.
LifeNews Note: Care Not Killing is a British organization working to protect vulnerable patients, the elderly, and others threatened by assisted suicide and euthanasia.
The culture of death will ALWAYS want more blood.
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How about a bill to legalize assisted homicide? Using their own logic, it makes sense.
That is, a lot of people want to murder other people, but don’t have the confidence to do a proper job of it, so need the expertise of professional killers.
Britain’s prisons are filled with nasty “Asians” that need killing, and the expense and difficulty of keeping them alive really puts a strain on the system.
And if the public has to kill them itself, it is far less orderly than cleanly hanging the lot of them.
On an annual basis, some 130,000 people a year are “put down” by their doctors right now. So why not homicide as many wicked criminals? I can guarantee that it Britain hung 130,000 “Asian” criminals every year, most of their national problems would just dissipate.
Their welfare roles would be a fraction of the size they are now. Much of the government would be redundant so could be let go with no reduction in services to the public. What’s not to like?
Seriously, if you can murder someone’s sainted grandmother, who was always a good citizen and worked hard for the nation and its people, then why not murder some Asiatic parasite who has raped and killed and lives off the dole?
This is how the Royals are able to have big, over the top events. They do charity work but the dirty little secret is that people are being killed to save money for celebrations and milestones and the security they require.
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