Hidden Nook
"Because in Cyberspace, no one can hear you scream."
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Poll States UK Citizens Support Euthanasia
[Media Source*] (Posted on Blogger News)
(Angus Reid Global Scan) Many adults in Britain believe certain persons should have the right to decide when they want to die, according to a poll by YouGov published in the Daily Telegraph. 87 per cent of respondents believe people who are terminally ill should be allowed to ask for medical assistance to help them die if they are unable to end their lives.
This follows a bill last year in England (called the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill bill) which proposes nine "safe guards" which includes a 14-day waiting period after the request as well as a second opinion from another doctor. Although this sounds great in theory, there are many cases where patients rights were often abused despite the "safety" measures that were put in place.
On Jun. 30, the members of the British Medical Association decided to withdraw their opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide at the end of their annual representative meeting. 67 per cent of respondents believe people should be allowed, without fear of prosecution, to assist the suicides of close relatives who are terminally ill.
Apparently UK doctors are forgetting their primary role in society is to save life not end it. England's shift in this direction is a clear indication that they are probably losing their moral clarity, a scary thought to fathom as they are one of the few nations that is considered a political/military power in the world. If this law is allowed to pass within the parliament, England will travel a long, hard road where citizens are only valued by how they contribute towards the state. After all, if a society doesn't regard it's weakest members, how can it regard itself as civil?
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The poll was flawed. As noted on the YouGov website (the company who conducted the poll) the definition they used in the poll (see page 8) was:
“Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness ort an incurable condition – either by intervention (e.g. lethal injection) or by the suspension of medical treatment”.
This is clearly inaccurate. Medical treatment is withdrawn or withheld when it is ineffective or the patient declines more treatment. This is not euthanasia; natural death may or may not follow suspending treatment. The specific intention of euthanasia is to kill the patient.
Posted by Patrick Leahy
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6:29 AM EDT
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By Darnell Clayton ⢠9:03 PM ⢠Email Post ⢠â¢
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