Let's say you get a uncurable disease which cripples you and means you can't enjoy your life and must rely on a carer for the rest of your life and as a result may feel suicidal. Shouldn't you have the right to assisted suicide? In some countries like Switzerland, it is a legal practice already. But in the UK, it isn't and occassionally such cases of people who want to die because they know they can no longer live normally are often denied by our court system to do so. ~http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23506186

I think it is quite cruel to be denied the right like that knowing your condition or quality of life likely won't improve. And for people in this kind of state i understand it is a difficult decision but it just gets to a point where they no longer want to suffer. I mean we wouldn't keep our pets alive if we saw them suffer from a disease especially if there was no cure for it, so why can't it be the same for a person if they so wish? Discuss. 

But what if your pet wants to live anyway?

I know it's silly ain't it? We put our pet down anyway regardless of what they think and yet a human who wants to die for some reason is denied their right. 

In the netherlands we have these rules :

a.that it is a voluntary and well-considered request of the patient,
b. the conviction that there was hopeless and unbearable suffering of the patient,
c. the patient is informed about the situation he was in and about his prospects,
d. the patient has come to the conclusion that there was no other reasonable solution to the situation that existed,
e. another, independent physician consulted, who has seen the patient and also determined point a to d
f. the euthanasia or assisted suicide should be performed by a physician with great care

In any case, I do agree that if the person has meditated about it a lot, and he does want to put an end to his/her life, we should accept it.

I wish our leaders though like this. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the idea of someone in pain or suffering wanting to die in and of itself. Unfortunately like everything else nothing exists in a vacuum. If you allow assisted suicide to be practiced, you can create a culture that anyone who is sick or dependent should end their life because that's what others do. You may have elderly or sickly people being pressured by their family to end their life. I see it all the time with family members pressuring their elders into care homes and then taking their property and/or pension.

My stance on issues such as this is that all human life is sacred, from conception to death, and that it shouldn't be ended pre-maturely. I know it's not perfect and I know I may/would think differently in certain situations, but it's the most consistent and morally sound opinion I can come up with.

I am OK with pulling the plug on someone on life support, just not killing them if they would not die otherwise.

i think so.

there was a program i saw on TV about some hospital proactively setting up "death planning" meetings. basically a meeting to discuss in what circumstances you would want to be saved and what circumstances you would rather be allowed to go gracefully.

personally i think that's a great idea. i have nothing against someone wanting to live regardless but i don't want to be a vegetable. frankly, as an atheist, if i were to have a stroke and be brain dead i personally think i would be death regardless of whether or not they can keep my heart beating.

i don't want to be a burden. i don't want to be a vegetable. i don't want to have my life's choices determined by some nutter who is too afraid of dying themselves to understand that death is a natural part of life and string me along long after i'm ready to go.

That's fair enough but for some reason over here it is treated like murder. The people that go with their relative to a country where assisted suicide is legal to peacefully end their relatives life, come back to the UK and are often arrested. It's wrong and the laws need to change. It should be fine here if we adopt those rules you have but it won't happen with the current generation of politicians. 

I do find it strange that as a human being, if we are perfectly healthy we have the right and freedom to kill ourselves if we wish. If a human wants to die but is unable to do that, even if they are in constant pain, they are denied the right.

Underlying religious 'morals' are getting in the way of saving someone from misery. UK law is a little behind the times when it comes to euthanasia.