I watched my grandmother die of age last year and it was horrible. I don't want to face that. If she were a dog,I could have offered her the gift of peaceful euthanasia with dignity.
The woman who had lived through a world war and kept her clarity of mind right up till that last few weeks,was suddenly lying in her own shit,scared and confused. She deserved better.
Some of you may know that some years ago my partner died from MND (ALS). Nobody should have to go through that torture. In the end,he suffocated to death,which is something I am very afraid of. Some of you guys will be familiar with a former member here called BLACKJACK who decided to end her life before the disease could. If ever there was a case for humane euthanasia,this illness is it.
The dignitas procedure allowed his wife and other loved ones to remember him as the proud,capable man that he was. Age can be very cruel. It's a gift that we deem acceptable for our pets,but not for our nearest and dearest.
I do understand the potential there would be for abuse and how controlled such a procedure needs to be. But surely it is only a matter of time before we can accept that this is the humane way to proceed.