What age would you like to live to?

Is it better to live fast and die young or grow old and jolly with a progeny of grandkids scurrying at your feet?

The age that human beings live to is ever on the increase, (although I read somewhere that my generation of early twenty-somethings are to going to be the first people to live a shorter life span than our parents) and it seems that degenerative diseases are also either becoming more common or just more in the spotlight.

I witnessed my grandmother suffer and eventually succumb to Alzheimers disease and it was very distressing for her and the whole family. I have also lost friends who were very young in a car accident.

Is death senseless or can it be a welcome relief? For my friends we were all very sad, however when my Nan died although we were obviously upset we were also happy that her suffering had finally ended.

So is euthanasia a practice we should have in Britain, or anywhere else for that matter?

Alzheimers can be passed hereditarily and I remember when my Nan was in her worst state my Mother told me that if she had the disease when she became older she would want to end her life before the final stage of the disease kicked in, which is basically a almost total vegetative state. By this she means she would want her family and friends to basically end her life for her is she wasn’t able.

Personally I don’t know if I could do that to my own Mother no matter what state she was in.

Does euthanasia show a disdain for life? Does it devalue the lives of the young who have it snatched away at any early age and have no choice whether they live or die?
Or is it a humane practice? We help our loved pets end their lives if they are extremely ill, of course they don’t have a choice though. So does it not make sense that humans should be allowed the same chance? Especially with our powers of choice?

What if they can’t choose though and if they are a vegetable, who doctors might assume to have no quality of life. Do we have the right to take it away to end suffering, or is all life sacred and no one has the right to take it in any circumstance?

My last point/question is a bit sketchy but with massive population growth, and particularly in England a population that is getting older and older is it better to live a good life and die young or get old and lose some of your capabilities.

P.S I am not bashing the old and I know all old people don’t lose control of their faculties and life rich full lives etc etc