In Holland, Euthanasia has become legal. Doctor-assisted suicide has been tolerated in the Netherlands for decades and the politicians have simply legalised what has been established medical practice. But the doctors are much more advanced in what they are doing than the politicians. A recent survey in the Netherlands has disclosed that the indiscriminate killing of patients by doctors is out of control.
Under Swiss law, assisted suicide is legal, as long as nobody profits from a death. But one Swiss organization is pushing this law to the limits, attracting an increasing number of foreigners who want to take their own lives, and raising serious ethical questions about an act most countries forbid. Ernst Aschmoneit flew from his home in Germany to Zurich, where he planned to be dead by nightfall. He said
“It’s not very easy to say and to know this is my last day." He is a retired mechanical engineer and childless widower, he travelled alone to Switzerland. He was afraid that if he waited any longer, he would be incapacitated by the disease and trapped in Germany, where assisted suicide is against the law. Aschmoneit decided to take his own life as his symptoms got worse. The only way to feel better, he said, was “to say good-bye before it was too late.” Looking back, he said he had a good life. What’s ahead after this life? “Nothing,” he said. This is a typical case that shows that people would rather be killed than kept alive.
Imagine if you had motor neurone disease (like Diane Pretty). Motor neuron diseases are progressive, degenerative disorders that affect nerves in the upper or lower parts of the body. Some of the diseases are inherited, while others may be acquired. Common MNDs include amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and post polio syndrome. Generally, MNDs strike in middle age. Symptoms may include difficulty swallowing, limb weakness, slurred speech, impaired gait, facial weakness, and muscle cramps. Respiration may be affected in the later stages of these diseases. The causes of most MNDs are not known, but environmental, toxic, viral, or genetic factors may be implicated. Imagine you had to sit in a wheel chair being pushed by a loved one down the street and having evil eyes staring because they think you are different to the other people. Imagine having to have a carer doing everything you could do like make the bed, brush your teeth, put a plaster on yourself etc. Also everyday you would be in immense pain because of the disease eating away at you.
Diana Pretty had motor neurone disease. She suffered and suffered everyday from the pain. Her husband Brian Pretty helped her everyday with things that we all take for granted. Diane died of the disease in May 2002. After she died her husband made a quote which sums up how she felt and how he felt. It was “And then for Diane it was over, free at last.”
This is why I believe that euthanasia should be legalised in the United Kingdom. I urge you to vote for the legalisation of euthanasia for all the people in the UK that suffer from a disease. Thank you.
