Blog 6: Legal battle over 'right to die'

Webpage address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6353339.stm
Date: 12-02-2007

Summary:
Kelly Taylor is 30 year old and terminally ill. She is going to launch a legal battle to force doctors to allow her to die. Kelly Taylor, from Bristol, who has been given less than a year to live, wants doctors to increase her medications to induce coma-like state. Her doctors have refused to do, because they say it is euthanasia. Her solicitors will argue that doctors have a duty to provide her with adequate pain control, even if that hastens her death, this is known as the double effect. The law says that it is illegal to assist suicide, but it is legal to give morphine to relieve pain or distress which may have the effect of shortening life.

Opinion:
I think it is always a difficult situation what is humane and what isn’t. In this case I think the doctors should help her with ending her painful life. But is it painful? Or is it preventive for upcoming inhuman pain? Than they don’t have to. When she can live on some months without pain and with medication, she must. But when it is so far that even the maximum amounts of medication can’t resolve her pain, euthanasia is the solution. I think this should be the way: When someone is really depressive we may never give up someone life or that others than the ill person are going to decide to do euthanasia. Their must be strict rules for this.