100 signatures reached
To: House of Lords
Let our loved ones have the choice to die with dignity
Support Lord Falconer's Bill on Assisted Dying being debated on Friday July 18, 2014
Why is this important?
I hope that those of you reading this never have to look after someone you love who is terminally ill.
But, if you do, that you can ensure they can choose the death they want, are out of pain and able as most of us wish to stay at home.
Lord Falconer’s Bill on assisted dying will have its second reading on Friday July 18th. It proposes that anyone who has a terminal illness who is judged by two Doctor’s to have less than 6 months to live and who is mentally competent to decide the timing of their own death to be given life ending medication.
Objectors worry about the impact on the elderly and disabled but they are not included. This clarification means that if you are faced with the devastating news of an inoperable, incurable illness you can choose a dignified death at the time of your choosing without fearing that your loved ones could be prosecuted if they were to help you end your life: which may include following your instructions not to send you to hospital or call an ambulance because they know that you want to stay at home rather than face death in a ward full of strangers or unfamiliar place.
As Sir Chris Woodhead explains in his brilliant article in the Sunday Times “To know there is a way out is a great comfort. For the GP to assist me is rational. I don’t want to die in hospital”see - www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/features/article1433324.ece
One can’t help feel the pain of Desmond Tutu’s final recollection of the way his great friend Mandela was treated as he echoes Woodhead’s words and makes a powerful case for “A mind shift on the right to die” see www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/12/desmond-tutu-in-favour-of-assisted-dying.
As someone who finds it agonising to recall the pain of caring for a partner faced with a devastating cancer perhaps the only consolation is knowing I was able to enable him to be at home so that he could hear the birds and see the garden while being surrounded by peace, love and light. But it was a fight and one that could have been avoided if only Lord Falconer's bill had been passed.
Please sign this petition to encourage the Lords to support assisted dying.
But, if you do, that you can ensure they can choose the death they want, are out of pain and able as most of us wish to stay at home.
Lord Falconer’s Bill on assisted dying will have its second reading on Friday July 18th. It proposes that anyone who has a terminal illness who is judged by two Doctor’s to have less than 6 months to live and who is mentally competent to decide the timing of their own death to be given life ending medication.
Objectors worry about the impact on the elderly and disabled but they are not included. This clarification means that if you are faced with the devastating news of an inoperable, incurable illness you can choose a dignified death at the time of your choosing without fearing that your loved ones could be prosecuted if they were to help you end your life: which may include following your instructions not to send you to hospital or call an ambulance because they know that you want to stay at home rather than face death in a ward full of strangers or unfamiliar place.
As Sir Chris Woodhead explains in his brilliant article in the Sunday Times “To know there is a way out is a great comfort. For the GP to assist me is rational. I don’t want to die in hospital”see - www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/newsreview/features/article1433324.ece
One can’t help feel the pain of Desmond Tutu’s final recollection of the way his great friend Mandela was treated as he echoes Woodhead’s words and makes a powerful case for “A mind shift on the right to die” see www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/12/desmond-tutu-in-favour-of-assisted-dying.
As someone who finds it agonising to recall the pain of caring for a partner faced with a devastating cancer perhaps the only consolation is knowing I was able to enable him to be at home so that he could hear the birds and see the garden while being surrounded by peace, love and light. But it was a fight and one that could have been avoided if only Lord Falconer's bill had been passed.
Please sign this petition to encourage the Lords to support assisted dying.
