This post is not just a bit self-indulgent self-pity, but an exploration of where things could go. The Telegraph today reports that 80% support assisted suicide. Sir Terry Pratchett is suggesting assisted suicide tribunals. I actually do believe in allowing assisted suicides for the terminally ill. However, there are many dangers that it could be abused. Given the behaviour of the Labour government, it can be guaranteed that it will.
Euthanasia for the terminally unemployed, like me, should be available. For many of those without a job there is no chance that they will ever work again.
For some this may be because they are sick or feckless. Many are older where the employers prefer young staff. Some are surplus to requirements because of changing demand. Others may be displaced because the jobs have been sold or negotiated away by the government as in the case of IT staff.
No money is to be spent on them because either the cost to bring them up to employable standards would be too great or they are of the wrong demographic and are unlikely to support the government.
The outlook for those that are terminally unemployed is that they will remain in poverty for the rest of their lives and continue to be a burden on the state. For some this can be for 40 or 50 years. As poorer people, they will also be a greater drain on the health services as well as inevitable criminals.
To relieve the personal suffering of these people and to reduce the burden on the state it would be helpful if the opportunity to end their lives was made available.
I would welcome the opportunity of being helped to die. I find that I cannot do it on my own. I would rather die with minimal pain, distress and in a dignified way where the results can be cleaned up with little fuss (burn me with the rest of the clinical waste will do fine). The alternative is that I do it alone at home, in pain and with the distinct possibility of great suffering as I try to get it right. I live alone without any contact with anyone so my body will not be discovered until it is in an advanced state of decay.
Of course, I would rather live and be a productive member of society. If I was allowed to work, I would be a higher rate tax payer too. However, the government has other ideas and I am now permanently excluded from working. I am condemned to spend the rest of my life in poverty and squalor. The only alternatives the government has for me is some form of prison either regular or mental.
