Comments on: The Gilderdale Case: The Right To Die

By: Jamie Dettmer

Jamie Dettmer — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:19:41 +0000

Thank you for your comment. Of, course, I disagree with it. Lynn took years to think about what she wanted and she suffered her condition for 17 years. I think she had the right to choose what she wanted rather than having other people decided for her or deciding that she might have changed her mind. For me, the moral and philosophical arguments in favour of assisted suicide far outweigh the counter-arguments. Compassion comes very much into it. My mother certainly wasn’t thinking about population control or eugenics when she decided to die. My family know all about eugenics — most of my ancestors were wiped out in the extermination camps of Germany and Poland by people who had mad ideas about such things. But as I said, I appreciate you sharing your views.

By: End of Life Choices

End of Life Choices — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:33:52 +0000

[...] Some find this a difficult topic to discuss, but it’s going to happen to all of us (well, probably), so it’s childish to avoid it. Yes, I’m discussing death. Jamie Dettmer, a friend and former colleague, has had to deal with this, too. His thoughts on the topic, drawing on his experience with his mother, can be found here: “The Gilderdale Case: The Right To Die” [...]

By: Frugal Dougal

Frugal Dougal — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:30:33 +0000

You have no way of knowing that Lynn might not have become reconciled to her condition. I’m sorry for the pain that Mrs Gilderdale will now go through, especially as she didn’t want to kill her daughter, but assisted suicide is more about population control and eugenics than it is about compassion.