Your views on the news

[leefer]

Pussy Riot got 2 years in some Gulag then....I wont be giving up vodka by way of protest.

 

[RWB Robin]

That's the point though Nicklinson can't do anything to end his own life except starve to death. Hardly dignified.

However harsh it may seem, you cannot make the law of the land on a single case or even a case by case basis.  And the issue here, apart from the most dreadful suffering of a particular man and his family, with which no-one could do anything but sympathise, is that there are much broader issues for society as a whole - not least that the whole medical profession's self-understanding is based on the duty to preserve life not to end it.  I confess I have mixed feelings about such a fundamental ethical change , and would certainly expect a very full debate in Parliament and beyond before any such change were made.

[jonny72]

The big problem if you legalise assisted suicide is that it will be open to abuse. It's alright when you see high profile cases which probably the majority think should be allowed without fear of prosecution, but what about the borderline cases? What if someone is forced in to it? What if they haven't really thought it through? And so on.

I'd like to see a system put in place where an application could be made, say to the Home Secretary or the House of Lords, and the right people would make the decision. If it was approved those assisting (family members, doctors, nurses) the suicide would be given immunity from prosecution for that case only. Not perfect but it would work and allow the most serious cases through.

[LucienSanchez]

I think his wife should just help him; there is no way any judge would hand down a custodial sentence, and it seems clear they will not effect the change in law they require.

[Notts red]

I think im right in saying that if Tony decides to starve himself the doctors would be powerless to prevent him doing so and would have to stand by and watch him die a slow and painful death. I would also imagine  he has been granted a DNR ( Do Not Resuscitate ) order which again would prevent them from attempting any CPR once his heart failed so it seems in some ways that he will be allowed to die but to me in a less dignified way.

[ghanimah]

Winnie Johnson, mother of Keith Bennett, passes away, never found her son.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-19305055

[jonny72]

Two brothers re-united after two years apart showing their joy at being re-united;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-19281347

Except of course they're gorillas. Things like this make me question whether we should be treating primates with so many human like qualities as animals or humans. Really doesn't seem right keeping them in cages.

[Notts red]

I can understand why some really endangered animals are kept in captivity for breeding programmes but most wild animals That are kept in cages/captivity are for our pleasure and not theirs which I don't agree with.

[horlock07]

They called a Gorilla 'Alf'

[millom red]

I dont understand why the fella with locked in syndrome doesnt just go to dignitas in switzerland. Perhaps he could say his goodbyes with family etc and then be put on a plane to the clinic. From what i have read, he does'nt actually want to die with immediate effect, he just wants to decide when he feels its time to go. its a dificult one i know.
As for pussy riot, imagine the Saturdays jumping around westminster abbey and vandalising crosses and the like. im not religious, but i think that would be punished over here. Singing anti Putin songs shouldnt be punshed though! Note to the saturdays...i'd love it if you went to westminster abbey shaking your arses while calling Cameron a cunt...just dont break owt!!
As for Assange...i just think he is a bit of a twat. Freedom of speech is one thing, but hacking Dept of Defense computer systems and releasing potentaily damaging military info and intelligence into the public domain is a bit of a daft thing to do...   

[janaage]

From an interview I saw with his daughters the bloke doesn't really want to go to Switzerland to die, I think he wants to do it in his own home, own country.  I do get what you mean though, I'd have thought it'd be an option.

[Panda Paws]

I dont understand why the fella with locked in syndrome doesnt just go to dignitas in switzerland. Perhaps he could say his goodbyes with family etc and then be put on a plane to the clinic. From what i have read, he does'nt actually want to die with immediate effect, he just wants to decide when he feels its time to go. its a dificult one i know.
As for pussy riot, imagine the Saturdays jumping around westminster abbey and vandalising crosses and the like. im not religious, but i think that would be punished over here. Singing anti Putin songs shouldnt be punshed though! Note to the saturdays...i'd love it if you went to westminster abbey shaking your arses while calling Cameron a cunt...just dont break owt!!
As for Assange...i just think he is a bit of a twat. Freedom of speech is one thing, but hacking Dept of Defense computer systems and releasing potentaily damaging military info and intelligence into the public domain is a bit of a daft thing to do...

He specifically said he didn't want to go to Switzerland to die in "the middle of an industrial estate".

[Arriba]

Mother of Keith bennett dead. Where was that cunt Derek acora and co when she needed them?

[jonny72]

From an interview I saw with his daughters the bloke doesn't really want to go to Switzerland to die, I think he wants to do it in his own home, own country.  I do get what you mean though, I'd have thought it'd be an option.

Think helping someone is still against the law in the UK even if it happens abroad. So if he went to Switzerland, who ever helped him would still be liable for prosecution.

[janaage]

Leave the trip til winter, then his wife could say she was taking him skiing or toboganning?