Do you think the right-to-die law should change?

LCP is not about accelerating death, merely structuring its management. It fails when there is poor or non existent communication between health professionals and patients/relatives, and doesn't really alter things that have almost always taken place. And people can and have been taken off LCP when they show signs of not being terminal at that time. Reading through the actual document clarifies this.

Yes - Freedom of choice in your own life

of course people should be given the right to a dignified life AND death just so long as they are of 'sound' mind.

i wish people who worship the sky fairies would keep out of the debate, how can a rational debate be carried on when they are blinkered by their outlandish unfounded, unproved beliefs and superstitions that the vast majority of rational folks dont believe in, sorry but it has to be said, it beggers belief that a so called christian can hate and call atheists evil. lets round up a few witches and burn them at the stake shall we !!!!

Most certainly, everyone should have the right to decide for themselves. We seem to live in a 'nanny state'

with few rights of our own. We are supposed to be a free thinking people making our own informed choices about own lives! Compassion is needed for the terrible suffering of people forced to live with pain, both

physical and mental.

Death is not something you can put right afterwards .God gave life and death. he also gave professional care administered correctly not used as an excuse to terminate life. What life have the relatives of family members that have not been given the right care and died unnecessarily. They cannot be brought back . be very careful what you wish for it is to late when you are dead.Apologies for being so blunt.

Whether we believe in a supreme being or do not, we all have in common life and death and pain, joy, happiness or whatever in between. We all therefore have the right to participate in the discussion. As far as I am aware, there is not proviso to this question that it should only be considered by those who are likely to answer in the affirmative. All the same, there is never a good excuse for someone to condemn others or try to impose their wishes on others. That applies to those with religious belifs and those without.

I have a strong belief in a creator, will not aplogise for it, but I agree that it is unchristian to call another human being 'evil'. But the person said 'I hate people who have no religion shoving their pointless beliefs down my throat' - it was the shoving of their beliefs not the person who is hated. There's nothing wrong with hating something a person does, but everything wrong with hating and denigrating the person.

I chose to end my days in a nursing home as things were getting more and more difficult for me to carry on what I would call a normal life.

I have seen loads of people around me degenerate fast with various illness's despite living a useful and fulfilled life all I see is those people deteriorating very fast losing what dignity they ever had and having to be hand fed and toileted NOW COME ON TELL ME THIS IS WHAT GOD WANTS FOR US ALL AT THE END? Nuts get back in your cage until you are ready to face the real world a world were self euthanasia is acceptable with or without some ones help.

The problem with allowing others to aid and abet those who wish to die is the mark that it leaves on society after they have had what they want - to end their own lives. Suicide is no longer a crime. If they want to kill themselves, they can. However, I do not believe that the law should be changed for their own convenience, to allow others to help kill them.

Hard words, perhaps, but the problems with such legislative change are great:

1.) The pressure it may psychologically put on elderly people to end their lives so that their children are no longer inconvenienced or - heaven forbid - lose their inheritance because of the massive cost of care homes. With fewer people in this country now being able to afford to buy their own homes due to its sheer cost and the general lowering in the standard of living, I really do fear that this could become a real problem;

2.) If euthanasia becomes an acceptable "form of treatment" for the terminally ill, will they perhaps be denied other treatment in future because the NHS no longer considers it 'value for money' in their case? The rational would be that if they are terminally ill, then they could end their lives after all? NHS resources are always going to be finite, no matter how money is put into the system.

3.) What are we saying about ourselves as a society when it becomes acceptable to kill our own kind? We allow animals to be put down for various reasons, not human beings. Whatever the reasons for someone wishing to take their own life may be, "hard cases don't make good law." There will be an indelible mark left afterwards on a society for the people who remain.

Some people quote God in their arguments against euthanasia. I see religion and proscribed religious codes as tried and tested principles and standards by which earlier and less sophisticated societies governed themselves. They also tended to work.

On a final note, as I used to be told "Be careful what you wish for - you just may get it." Change this law at your peril. We all get old.

No the law should not be changed. Everyone should have access to excellent palliative care and or pain relief experts. No terminally ill person should die in pain, and those with long term conditions must have immediate access to specialist pain experts, and be given the tools and choice of products and care options to manage bladder and or bowel dysfunction with dignity, enabling a more normal life style. There is evidence that continence services are severely underfunded and restrictions placed on product choice, and management option.

Living with spinal injury is tough, people forget about our hidden problems that if not properly managed can

Place unnecessary restrictions on life. Many non disabled people make huge assumptions about me and how my life is valued. Many think being in a wheelchair, needing help with personal care, and coping with severe long term pain is the worst thing that can happen to them. Life is different, but should be equally valued. Too many disabled people have their lives judged as terrible by clinicians when an acute event happens and relatives have to fight for them to receive active medical care to get over an acute event. Most people with long term conditions will have low spells when things may seem too great to cope. We need support and care to cope better, not drugs and help to shorten our lives.

wow! such a powerful statement STD and your closing words are so true about being careful about what you wish for.

Under no circumstances. We have seen how the Abortion act has been hi-jacked by those who initially said it would only be for Medical related problems. We now have abortion for lifestyle maintenance. I even heard one Senior midwife confirming that it was acceptable for this reason.

The wool has been pulled over our eyes once, NOT AGAIN.

Sorry no I don't agree,there would be too much pressure on physically and mentally ill patients who would feel obliged to end their lives for the sake of others and not themselves and because they consider they are being a nuisance.

Stella 2 I'don't remember being asked to vote? So where does this 81 percent come from?

Thanks to everyone for posting your views. @Worrynot, we ran this poll on our site earlier this month and had a total of 1,862 responses. You can read more about this poll by the clicking on the link shared in my original post at the beginning of this discussion thread.

Well I was not aware of such a poll so why wasn't I,maybe all Patient .co.uk members should have had the chance to vote otherwise your poll does not represent the majority---very undemocratic. Exactly how did you choose your voting people???