What I write here is as a result of my own experience, but not my intentions. My situation is such that I have to live as long as I can, and I hope for at least three years, during which time I shall have to be very careful not to fall yet again. I cannot afford to go into a care home The government seems to be very concerned about the fact that the current older generations are living too long, but doesn’t take into account the fact that the coming generations will never live as long as we did because their habits are so different from ours.
Suicide
I have known of three cases of suicide, but not the reasons of any one of them. The first was of a man friend of mine who without consideration for the people in the bus or the driver, stepped in front of a long-distance bus, purposely, and was killed. The second case was the wife of a friend of mine. For some reason she drank bleach, which must have given her a most terribly painful death. The third case was that of a young woman, wealthy, apparently healthy, and if the vast number of people who turned up for her funeral was any gauge, she was well loved. I quote these instances because those who commit suicide do not take into consideration the effects on their family or on other’s. The trauma that the suicide can generate can be quite wide. There will be the effects on the immediate family, presupposing that there is affection between them. There will be trauma for those who discover the body, and the subsequent attentions of the police and the coroner’s court, will also be unpleasant. I accept, that the fact of having euthanasia will present the family with some problems, but they would more than likely be aware of the reason why the decision was taken.
Euthanasia
I consider that the most cogent reason for introducing euthanasia, is the problems made by the subject being totally incapable, for one reason or another, of understanding the parameters of committing suicide, and thus, failing in the attempt. In this case, the result is that the subject can be totally damaged, and require attention for the rest of their lives, which in turn costs the government thousands of pounds per annum, and puts a burden on the family.
Introducing euthanasia is not a simple matter. One has to be firmly convinced that the subject has reasonable necessity, is not making the decision lightly, nor on the spur of the moment. There must be time to ensure that it is not a whim. What I set out next is just a basic framework for the way in which the processes could be undertaken reasonably, sensibly, and justifiably. Stage one is the application, written by the subject, and witnessed by a reliable person. In the application there would be the names of two family members, who are regularly in touch with the subject. In addition there will be the names of two friends of the family with the same requirement. And finally there will be the name of the doctor treating the subject. There would be a six week period from that point on, to allow the authorities to insure that what they were doing was reasonable. This period also provides that the subject has time to reconsider. Stage two, is split into two fortnightly periods, during which the subject is housed in a very comfortable location, and provided with a very civilised day-to-day existence. At the end of the first fortnight, there will be an opportunity for the subject to indicate that he wished to proceed. Failing this the same procedure would be taken in the second fortnight, when the subject could terminate the exercise at any time, by pressing two buttons only. There would be a switch system, with three buttons and associated coloured lights, set far apart so that they could not be triggered altogether, accidentally. Pressing all the buttons will inaugurated the final stages which will be conducted in such a manner that the subject would not be put under any serious stress. I’m not suggesting that this is a foolproof system, merely suggesting that something along these lines would be essential. If the information that I have received from the Internet about the costs of going to Switzerland is in any way true, then I believe that this alone could force some people into suicide, and hence a viable system at a reasonable price, superintended by the government should be the aim