Assisted dying: We should allow terminally ill people to slip away peacefully, not suffer a long drawn out death – Hayley Matthews

Campaigners in support of assisted dying protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London (Picture: Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

I'm going to give you my thoughts on something very controversial that I think we need to have an adult conversation about. Assisted dying.

Despite some moves in the Scottish and UK parliaments, we still seem no further forward on what should be a basic human right.

We appear to be hypocrites when it comes to euthanasia. Beloved family pets, when in pain, diseased and dying, are afforded an escape. So why on Earth when someone has no hope in hell of a recovery, do we let them fade away, shrivelling up until their very last few dying breaths?

A simple change of law on assisted dying could save such suffering for all those involved. It's not a pleasant journey and I've watched too many loved ones travel this road of hell towards their last breath.

Why can't we do what Switzerland allows for those nearing the end of their life with no chance of a U-turn? I'm not quite ready to go into the details of my recent personal experience but I will say that after watching someone struggle to breathe, unable to drink or eat for several days, I was close to putting them out of their misery myself with a huge pillow, despite my love for them.

After reading Zoe Hyatt-Marley's support for a change in the law on assisted dying following the death of her mother and husband, I have to agree with her.

For those who haven't experienced watching a loved-one’s body packing up, then I hope you never do. I hope when I'm an old dear on my last legs that if I'm so ill, in a hospital bed and only just surviving, a swift injection will put me and those watching out of our misery.

We seem so touchy about assisted dying and I want to know why. Do we associate it with suicide or murder? Surely not, if a person wants to be ‘released early’ and even begs to be put out of their misery, shouldn’t that be legal?

To me, it's utter madness, backwards and dated. I lie awake at night wondering what our obsession is with extending life to the very last breath. Even when it's inevitable that a person will pass in the near future, we're still desperately trying to keep them alive. Why?

If we knew what was on the other side, be it pearly gates or those who've gone before us waiting to greet us with their wings spread wide open, would we then be a little more open to walking up the staircase to heaven sooner? Maybe the not knowing and the fear of nothingness is what prevents many of us from taking our final days into our own hands?

There's part of me that thinks it's about the pain of the dying. However, the pain at the very end of life must be one of the worst. I've seen a few people go through it now and I have to say none of them looked peaceful, so why can't we be grown up and legalise assisted dying?

I'm not just talking casually, but seriously. Should you be on your deathbed, with no hope, then having the option of slipping away peacefully and quickly instead of a long drawn out passing is surely the better option.

We don't do it to our animals, so why do it to our fellow humans? It's utter madness!

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