Really?francovendee wrote: ↑6 Oct 2021, 8:23am Having watched my mum and dad both die a painful death I fervently hope I don't go the same way.
Assisted dying is something that needs to be freely discussed without particular bias especially from religeous groups.
If it beomes legal then of course there will be some abuse but I see this as no more likely than a doctor or nurse deciding to kill a patient. Murderer in the medical profession is rare and I'd expect the same from assisted dying
There are ~200k abortion in E&W each year:
Reference (PDF)196,083 (97.7%) – risk of injury to physical or mental health of the pregnant woman;
3,269 (1.6%) – substantial risk of serious physical or mental abnormality in the unborn child;
1,104 (0.6%) – risk of injury to physical or mental health of any existing children of the family of the pregnant woman;
145 – risk to life or to prevent grave permanent injury (non-emergency);
7 – risk to life or to prevent grave permanent injury (emergency).
That 97.7% is limited to the first 24 weeks (and I know people who were *born* at 24 weeks), but is rather woolly in terms of what constitutes injury (it doesn't need to be grave, nor long lasting). Is being upset that you can't have a drink at the pub mental injury?
In many ways more concerning is that "39% of women undergoing abortions had had one or more previous abortions" (same source).
Given the reliability and availability of contraception it's hard to avoid the conclusion that abortion is being treated as a form of contraceptive by some - assisted by the medical profession.
Personally I really struggle with the NHS simultaneously providing IVF and abortion* services (particularly when some of those abortion services are to "selectively reduce" the number of foetuses implanted by IVF).
I can also see significant pressure being applied to vulnerable members of society - and the current defunding of social care isn't going to make that any less likely.
That is where I would be most concerned about changes to the current legislation, and those protections really do need baking in properly (potentially requiring a living will from a time when the person was of sound mind).
* I have no issue with abortion where there is a substantial risk of grave long lasting injury or death, but that is a tiny percentage of abortions in the UK.