Sunday, 20 October 2024

A Reluctant No To Assisted Dying

The assisted dying debate is being brought front and centre this week with time set aside in the Commons to discuss and then vote on, the first debate on the emotive subject since 2015 when it was defeated 300 to 118.
The make up of Parliament has changed dramatically since then with Labour far outnumbering the other parties but they appear just as conflicted about it as i am.
It is a situation where i am aware and understand both sides of the argument but i always come down on the side of no because i fear once it is introduced, despite all the tough rules governing it, it will become a slippery slope to something else entirely.   
Canada's Medical assistance in dying (Maid) laws are sure to be mentioned, they initially permitted only terminally ill Canadians to be eligible for the procedure when it was made law in 2016 but has now been expanded to include anyone who 'reasonably foresees death' which permitted people with chronic conditions to apply for assisted death and the Government is facing pressure from senators to include mental illness as a reason for accessing assisted death.
Government figures show that 13,102 people ended their lives under Maid in 2022, an increase of 30% on the previous year, and of those 13,102 Canadians the vast majority cited the: 'loss of ability to engage in meaningful life activities' as the reason for wanting to die and more than one-third of respondents said their decision was, in part, informed by a feeling they were a perceived burden on family, friends or caregivers.
The danger of people being pressured into a decision, and any subsequent attempts to widen the law of who can access the program means that i understand the distress of seeing a loved one suffering but it could open a door which we would not be able to close so i am on the side of saying no for the greater good, but it isn't as firm no, it's a reluctant one.

4 comments:

Not really a blog said...

so you don't see socialism as a slippery slope, i don't recall you objecting to ideas about restricting freedom of speech (hate words and such) and the slippery slope of 1984 like speech control, but you are worried about this... the mind of a leftist...

Falling on a bruise said...

Comparing Socialism to Assisted Dying???????? The mind of the ideologue...

Not really a blog said...

no, slow aren't you. shifted to "slippery slope" which the left typically denies as existing.

someone like labeling someone else an ideologue is two-faced...

Anonymous said...

‘ it will become a slippery slope to something else entirely.’

‘so you don't see socialism as a slippery slope,’

Not too bright are you.