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I wrote to my MP on this issue, drawing on my experience with my wife.
She not only wrote back to me, but referred to the contents of my letter
is a way which showed she had actually read it and I was not being sent
a mass-produced response. I hope that other MPs are similarly responsible.
However I replied to her and I thought you might be interested in my reply.
(She sent me a parliamentary briefing document setting out the bill and
the arguments for it. It was over a hundred pages long!)
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
==========
I have read through the document you sent me (speed reading, I am
afraid) and I should like to make a couple of comments.
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF it
is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of people like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately wants
to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
On 25/09/2025 13:31, John wrote:
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour
IF it is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of
people like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who
desperately wants to end her life, but is too ill to travel to
Dignitas.
Well why doesn't she? Hundreds of people commit suicide every year
without the need for legislation or trips to Dignitas. If she really
is so desperate to die, any multi-storey car park in the country will
do the job. She could even, if she is that determined, chug a bottle
of vodka.
On 25/09/2025 13:31, John wrote:
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF
it is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of people
like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately
wants to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
Well why doesn't she? Hundreds of people commit suicide every year
without the need for legislation or trips to Dignitas.
If she really is
so desperate to die, any multi-storey car park in the country will do
the job. She could even, if she is that determined, chug a bottle of vodka.
It is extremely selfish of her to want to put other lives at risk just because she wants to die. She's behaving like a spoiled child.
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
On 25/09/2025 11:40, Kendall K. Down wrote:
I wrote to my MP on this issue, drawing on my experience with my wife.
She not only wrote back to me, but referred to the contents of my
letter is a way which showed she had actually read it and I was not
being sent a mass-produced response. I hope that other MPs are
similarly responsible.
However I replied to her and I thought you might be interested in my
reply.
(She sent me a parliamentary briefing document setting out the bill
and the arguments for it. It was over a hundred pages long!)
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
==========
I have read through the document you sent me (speed reading, I am
afraid) and I should like to make a couple of comments.
<snipped for brevity only>
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF it
is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of people like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately wants
to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
That said, I do understand the concerns raised, and agree with you that certainly the spouse, and ideally close family, should have an input if
the bill is passed, albeit with the caveat you mentioned.
Apparently the bill has been pushed back to 2029, initiated by Kim Leadbeater, the bills author.
On 25/09/2025 13:31, John wrote:
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF
it is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of people
like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately
wants to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
That said, I do understand the concerns raised, and agree with you
that certainly the spouse, and ideally close family, should have an
input if the bill is passed, albeit with the caveat you mentioned.
Mr and Mrs Posner (both aged late-90s) decided to go together, at a
clinic in Switzerland.
Neither was terminally ill, but they decided that life wasn't great any longer, and, after 75 years together, neither wanted to be on their own, grieving for the other.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15135443/Tributes-actress- Holocaust-died-Swiss-suicide-clinic-husband.html
On 25/09/2025 13:31, John wrote:
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF
it is the wish of the person who is severely ill.-a I think of people
like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately
wants to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
Well why doesn't she? Hundreds of people commit suicide every year
without the need for legislation or trips to Dignitas. If she really is
so desperate to die, any multi-storey car park in the country will do
the job. She could even, if she is that determined, chug a bottle of vodka.
It is extremely selfish of her to want to put other lives at risk just because she wants to die. She's behaving like a spoiled child.
On 25/09/2025 13:31, John wrote:
I haven't followed the bill closely, but I am cautiously in favour IF it is the wish of the person who is severely ill. I think of people like Esther Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, and who desperately wants
to end her life, but is too ill to travel to Dignitas.
Well why doesn't she? Hundreds of people commit suicide every year
without the need for legislation or trips to Dignitas. If she really is
so desperate to die, any multi-storey car park in the country will do
the job. She could even, if she is that determined, chug a bottle of
vodka.
It is extremely selfish of her to want to put other lives at risk just because she wants to die. She's behaving like a spoiled child.
In India in historic times, people in the 3rd stage of life (pensioners) would just stop eating, and die. It takes a certain amount of
discipline, in modern timees it requires the cooperation of medical
staff in not forcing the food down the nose.
I saw this a few years ago when the widow of my next-door neighbour who
died in 2022. (the `children' lived abroad and deposited her with the old-age-assisted-living industry, and were able to watch her passing on
their phones from CA, as she stopped eating and passed within a week,
exactly a year later)
On the other hand, with growing private equity in health care, the
deaths in hospitals are rising (as reports say). In many cases the
nursing staff carries out the execution, if there is any problem (say rudeness the nursing staff or assault on them)
My wife worked as a speech therapist, and one of her patients had become
a patient because she threw herself in front of a lorry and survived - although horribly injured. She was certainly not capable any longer of trying again.
My late father said that some of his patients asked him to end their
lives for them, but he said he couldn't do that. However, this was in
the days when doctors doled out barbiturates like sweeties, and he said
that many of his patients had a lethal dose of barbiturates sitting on
the bedside table, and they could take it whenever they wanted.
I doubt that she's physically capable of that, without assistance, and
as the law now stands assisting her is a criminal offence.
That's rather a shameful thing to write.
How callous.-a Maybe she doesn't want to inconvenience the people that
have to clean up afterwards.
However the vodka might be an idea, she could get dementia and forget
she's in pain!
And just how is she putting other lives at risk exactly?-a Unless she follows through on your suggestion to chuck herself off a multi-storeyBecause once it is easy to have a doctor kill you, there will be many
car park and puts other lives in danger by falling on a pedestrian and killing them in the process.
Neither was terminally ill, but they decided that life wasn't great any longer, and, after 75 years together, neither wanted to be on their own, grieving for the other.
On 27/09/2025 11:13, John wrote:
How callous.-a Maybe she doesn't want to inconvenience the people that
have to clean up afterwards.
Did you hear about the couple who jumped off a cliff in Whitby, after carefully tidying their home and putting everything in order?
However the vodka might be an idea, she could get dementia and forget
she's in pain!
You drink a bottle of vodka straight off and you'll die of alcohol poisoning.
And just how is she putting other lives at risk exactly?-a Unless she
follows through on your suggestion to chuck herself off a multi-storey
car park and puts other lives in danger by falling on a pedestrian and
killing them in the process.
Because once it is easy to have a doctor kill you, there will be many
killed because a relative pressured them to ask for it or a doctor
decided that it was in their best interests and so on.
On 26/09/2025 16:39, GB wrote:
That's rather a shameful thing to write.
There was a story in the paper two days ago about some woman who
survived the holocaust but then went to Dignitas to kill herself. Except that a relative has now come forward to say that she was pressured into doing so by her husband. How many more such cases will there be when
suicide is quick and easy here in Britain?
So no, I don't feel any shame about what I wrote.
On 26/09/2025 16:39, GB wrote:
My wife worked as a speech therapist, and one of her patients had
become a patient because she threw herself in front of a lorry and
survived - although horribly injured. She was certainly not capable
any longer of trying again.
My wife was a speech therapist too!
My late father said that some of his patients asked him to end their
lives for them, but he said he couldn't do that. However, this was in
the days when doctors doled out barbiturates like sweeties, and he
said that many of his patients had a lethal dose of barbiturates
sitting on the bedside table, and they could take it whenever they
wanted.
Exactly - and people can still do that if they choose to. They don't
have to put the lives of others in danger by getting the law changed.
I doubt that she's physically capable of that, without assistance, and
as the law now stands assisting her is a criminal offence.
Can't dring a bottle of vodka?
And giving someone a present of a bottle
of the stuff is hardly a criminal offence.
That's rather a shameful thing to write.
There was a story in the paper two days ago about some woman who
survived the holocaust but then went to Dignitas to kill herself. Except that a relative has now come forward to say that she was pressured into doing so by her husband. How many more such cases will there be when
suicide is quick and easy here in Britain?
So no, I don't feel any shame about what I wrote.
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
She stated in her final email to friends that the decision was mutual
and without any outside pressure.
If you can't show empathy to someone who is suffering immensely, how can
you claim to be a Christian?
Are you suggesting that everyone should be issued with a lethal dose of barbiturates, so they can take their own life if they wish? I don't
think that's what you really mean, so could you clarify, please.
If she's very ill (and I haven't seen her), she may not be capable of lifting a bottle. Or, perhaps, not even capable of lifting a glass and drinking it.
The problem with your approach is it forces people to take action to end their lives whilst they are still physically capable of doing so. That
may be long before they actually want to end their lives. And, indeed,
they may do so purely out of fear of becoming utterly disabled physically.
If it's with the intent of assisting suicide, it may be a criminal act,
but I don't think we need to explore the law to that level of detail.
Can I have your source, please. I've already cited Mrs Posner's case
(with approval), including a link to the DM. There's no mention there of relatives 'coming forward'. The two of them chose to die together, is
what the DM said.
Someone still has to pick up the horrible mess on the beach, even worse
if bones and brain are splattered all over a road.
It was a flippant nod to the alcohol increases the risk of dementia thread.
And I doubt your claim is true, yes there is a danger that someGiven that one of the three will be a social worker, I'm surprise you
unscrupulous people will try to get their parent or grandparent bumped
off, but many?-a Also, according to your opening post, it will be 3
people who decide the outcome of any particular case. Personally, I
would extend that to include the views of those closest to the patient,
as well as input from their own GP, who will know them best.
On 30/09/2025 11:13, GB wrote:
Are you suggesting that everyone should be issued with a lethal dose
of barbiturates, so they can take their own life if they wish? I don't
think that's what you really mean, so could you clarify, please.
No, but people have been known to put a tablet aside every day until
they have built up a lethal dose.
If she's very ill (and I haven't seen her), she may not be capable of
lifting a bottle. Or, perhaps, not even capable of lifting a glass and
drinking it.
But she is capable enough to campaign for assisted suicide.
The problem with your approach is it forces people to take action to
end their lives whilst they are still physically capable of doing so.
That may be long before they actually want to end their lives. And,
indeed, they may do so purely out of fear of becoming utterly disabled
physically.
It doesn't force them to do anything. In fact, it rather discourages
them from doing anything.
If it's with the intent of assisting suicide, it may be a criminal
act, but I don't think we need to explore the law to that level of
detail.
Did I know why she wanted the bottle of vodka? Can you prove I knew?
Can I have your source, please. I've already cited Mrs Posner's case
(with approval), including a link to the DM. There's no mention there
of relatives 'coming forward'. The two of them chose to die together,
is what the DM said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15139245/Holocaust-survivor- coerced-Swiss-clinic-suicide.html
"As for their final message, Pascal said: 'Ruth sent the email, but I believe Michael would have dictated it to her.'"
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
On 30/09/2025 09:20, John wrote:
She stated in her final email to friends that the decision was mutual
and without any outside pressure.
She would, wouldn't she.
If you can't show empathy to someone who is suffering immensely, how
can you claim to be a Christian?
I have sympathy for her suffering. I have none for the fact that she
wants to drag others down with her.
God bless,
Kendall K. Down
This is clearly a strange argument. What happens if they don't get barbiturates? Or, they desperately need every painkiller they can get,
just to stop screaming in pain?
You're just wriggling. You are saying that people who are well enough to take their own lives should do so. Whilst those who are in an enfeebled state must just suffer.
You might be able to perjure your way out of a conviction, I agree.
Thanks for the link. Even assuming Pascal is right, it's entirely
possible that the husband would have persuaded the wife to jump off a
multi storey car park, which appears to be the Kendall approved suicide method. I don't see how going to Switzerland meant he could pressure her
any more effectively.
On 30/09/2025 11:13, GB wrote:
Are you suggesting that everyone should be issued with a lethal dose
of barbiturates, so they can take their own life if they wish? I don't
think that's what you really mean, so could you clarify, please.
No, but people have been known to put a tablet aside every day until
they have built up a lethal dose.
If she's very ill (and I haven't seen her), she may not be capable of
lifting a bottle. Or, perhaps, not even capable of lifting a glass and
drinking it.
But she is capable enough to campaign for assisted suicide.
On 30/09/2025 08:53, John wrote:
And I doubt your claim is true, yes there is a danger that some
unscrupulous people will try to get their parent or grandparent bumped
off, but many?-a Also, according to your opening post, it will be 3
people who decide the outcome of any particular case. Personally, I
would extend that to include the views of those closest to the
patient, as well as input from their own GP, who will know them best.
Given that one of the three will be a social worker, I'm surprise you
regard that as a safe-guard. Ask the girls abused in Rochdale how much
they trust social workers
On 30/09/2025 18:12, GB wrote:
Actually, if someone assists a person who is suffering in committing suicide, I think they should stand up and admit it. There have been
plenty of cases where a loved one has carried out a "mercy killing" and
been given a slap on the wrist when it is clear that they were 1. acting
out of mercy, and 2. acting in accordance with the deceased's wishes.
I am not opposed to that, but I believe that having to face court and justify the action is a vital safeguard against frivilous use of "mercy killing", whether carried out by a relative or a doctor.
Thanks for the link. Even assuming Pascal is right, it's entirely >> possible that the husband would have persuaded the wife to jump off a
multi storey car park, which appears to be the Kendall approved
suicide method. I don't see how going to Switzerland meant he could
pressure her any more effectively.
The point is that people can be and are put under pressure to commit suicide. The assisted dying bill will make that more prevalent and less risky for the perpetrator.
On these last two responses you make a valid point. However that point
comes from assuming that if the bill is passed, people will be bumping
off their loved ones willy nilly for reasons other than ending a persons immense suffering.
I wasn't aware until yesterday, but it will only apply if the person has less than 6 months to live.
Campaigning?-a-a She's a supporter of it certainly, and has voiced her opinion previously. I haven't seen her out in the streets wavingWaving placards is not the only nor even the most effective way of campaigning.
placards though.
Not all social workers are bad, and I speak from experience.
By the same token people shouldn't go to church if they have children,Rubbish.
as there's a far greater risk of them being molested there than anywhere else
On 01/10/2025 09:58, John wrote:
Campaigning?-a-a She's a supporter of it certainly, and has voiced herWaving placards is not the only nor even the most effective way of campaigning.
opinion previously. I haven't seen her out in the streets waving
placards though.