Assisted Suicide - seeing as it's in the news again

[watervole]

I'm very much in the pro camp when it comes to assisted suicide.  As I'm aware that one of the arguments against assisted suicide is that people may be forced/coerced into this against their wishes, I tend to post about once a year stating my views clearly so that my family/friends have my views on public record at a time when I'm clearly of sound

Comments

[julia_winolj]

A friend of mine was told she was terminal with 6 months to live from breast cancer - tumours going all over in her spine and her brain. I was lucky enough to be able to spend a lot of time with her and her family in that 6 month lead up to and the aftermath of her death. We talked about many things, including the difficulty of imagining that the world will just continue on without you once you are gone, and, inevitably, the progression of the disease, the potential for pain and for loss of faculty, mental and physical. We discussed the possibility of suicide, and her fear that she might be incapable of doing what she needed to by the time she reached the point where she wanted to end her life, a point made very clear in the Terry Pratchett documentary. As a close friend, I agreed that I would assist her if it became necessary; she was already being forced to half-orphan her 2 children aged 4 and 6 - asking her husband for help could leave her family vulnerable - the last thing they needed would be for him to serve a prison

[watervole]

I admire your courage in being willing to help your friend in this way. I understand exactly why she could not ask her husband - being in prison would have left her children with no parents at all.

I'm very glad that you didn't have to do it, but also relieved that she died peacefully.

I would not wish a lingering painful death on my worst enemy, let alone someone I cared about.