If there was someone you know of or loved that had no more quality of life, should we prolong their suffering, or make a law to decide when enough is a enough.

I don't think anyone's suggesting *making* a law to determine when "enough is enough", rather getting rid of the law that forbids doctors and/or loved ones from making a decision to take action that assists in ending a patient's life (including providing them with the means to do so themselves).

One of the most common objections to legalising euthanasia is that doing so is likely to lead to cases of individuals dying when they could possibly have gone on to live healthy, productive lives. While I agree that such an outcome is possible, perhaps inevitable, on its own, it is not a strong argument against legalising euthanasia.

As it is, a percentage of murderers are known to re-offend after being released from prison on parole. Should therefore all murderers be put away for life with no parole, no exceptions, because of the small possibility of deaths by re-offenders?

Further, people die all the time due to current existing legislation: legislation that makes it legal for people to drive, to work on construction sites, to operate mines etc. etc. If the main point of government legislation was to prevent deaths at any cost we would all be wrapped up in cotton-balls and never achieve anything. Any change to government legislation that is intended to improve society in general, and the lives of most of us, carries with it the risk of unintended negative side-effects. Euthanasia laws are no different, and like most things in life, it's a question of balancing out the benefits against the risks. As it is, the current system that puts such a weight on extending the lives of terminally ill patients as long as possible takes up valuable resources from our medical system (supposedly up to 50% of all medical costs occur in the last 6 months of life on average), that could instead be used treating patients that are not terminally ill, but are currently being neglected - potentially to the point of death - because of an overstretched health system. It cuts both ways.

(TBC)

(cont.)

If that isn't enough, then you at least have to demonstrate that there is good reason to believe that legalising euthanasia will lead to more premature deaths than the current situation. Doctors and other medical carers already today make decisions that lead to the deaths of their patients. They switch off life-support machines, they give high doses of pain-killers, knowing full well that such an action will kill the patient. No doubt in some of those cases the patient might have lived for many more years due to some unexpected recovery. Legalising euthanasia simply gives doctors one more option on how to end a patient's life, and we can surely trust that they will use the same judgement about when and whether to exercise such an option that they do with their current options.

Unfortunately there is little support of euthanasia on either side of the political fence currently. That will inevitably change in the next few decades as the baby boomer population starts to reach the age where the debate becomes relevant again. In the end it may come down to sheer economics.

At almost 69 years old, I'm nearing my use by date - I'm a chronic diabetic on insulin, I've had open heart surgery and a couple of by passes and my kidneys are failing. Slowly, but failing.
I have a number of interests in life including contributing to this site and I've had some arrows sent my way. One, by 'Steel' was so crappy I had to laugh, I couldn't take his offensive language regarding age to heart.
I do not look forward to the time when my ailments, real, not imagined, will put me in an old people's home.
I strongly support euthanasia if it will spare me that agony.
Afterthought. The earth is rapidly approaching its human beings capacity. Fewer deaths at birth, fewer deaths from old age.
Makes you think.

Youthinasia?

And here I was thinking it was a clever play on words.

Phonenix94,
Getting on your way myself and I hope euthanasia is easier to get when I decide its time. I hope not to be a burden on others.

Don't concern yourself with steel, he is a dead set idiot and has an obsesssion about male circumcission. Maybe its so small he misses the little bit of skin they snipped off the end.

Cheers.