Brighton mum suffering from pain dies in Swiss clinic (From The Argus)
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Brighton mum suffering from pain dies in Swiss clinic
9:35am Friday 21st September 2012 in News By Anna Roberts, Crime reporter
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Jackie Meacock pictured when she talked to The Argus about her illness in 2008
A woman who campaigned to end her own life because she was in constant pain has died in Switzerland’s Dignitas clinic.
Jackie Meacock, from Brighton, suffered from the neurological disorder dystonia and took her own life at the clinic with her family including three daughters beside her.
Previously Mrs Meacock had created a video diary for BBC South East calling for assisted suicide to be legalised.
In it she said: “If I was a dog, you would put me down.”
She died on September 13.
People with dystonia suffer sustained muscle contractions which cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures.
Her daughters, Nina Sloper, Donella Preisler and Caron Gill, said their mother had wanted to die at home.
They said while they accepted there were people who would not support their mother’s choice they did.
In a blog post Mrs Preisler said cases such as that of her mother should be considered carefully.
She said: “We’re not saying it should be legal for a doctor to kill you, but it should be de-criminalised for those in exceptional circumstances.
“Each case should be considered on an individual basis, much the same as Dignitas do. The issue is about choice.
“What if that person doesn’t want to live with their disability? What if that person doesn’t want to live with the constant agonising pain that accompanies the disability?
“Who are we to insist and play God by saying you have to keep living regardless of how you feel because we don’t think it’s right to end your life and your suffering?
“The biggest tribute I can give my mum is to carry on with her campaign to bring the debate out into the open.
“Death is something we will all face, it’s the one certain thing in life, some of us would just prefer to choose when we go and not be at the mercy of our pain and suffering.”
Comments(22)
tooned_in
says...
9:58am Fri 21 Sep 12
Goldenwight
says...
10:30am Fri 21 Sep 12
No, the issue is whether or not third parties should be criminally prosecuted for assisting those who genuinely feel that theif lives are not worth continuing. And that assistance can be something as minor as unscrewing the childproof top on a bottle of tablets. And we are talking about a very small number of people.
If we contrast that with the number of unlawful killings caused by sheer incompetence or mind numbing stupidity which escape prosecution one might wonder whether it would be right and proper for some of our lawmakers to be put down as a menace to themselves and others.
AmboGuy
says...
12:32pm Fri 21 Sep 12
Goldenwight wrote:How sad that you use a story of someone's death to have a rant about you perceived lawmakers incompetence.
The issue here is not the right to die, nobody is denied that, although attempted suicide was a criminal offence in this Country within living memory.
No, the issue is whether or not third parties should be criminally prosecuted for assisting those who genuinely feel that theif lives are not worth continuing. And that assistance can be something as minor as unscrewing the childproof top on a bottle of tablets. And we are talking about a very small number of people.
If we contrast that with the number of unlawful killings caused by sheer incompetence or mind numbing stupidity which escape prosecution one might wonder whether it would be right and proper for some of our lawmakers to be put down as a menace to themselves and others.
I think the law definitely needs to be changed. The ordeal this poor woman and her family have had to go through is beyond comprehension. The problem is safeguarding that if a law on assisted suicide was passed that it wasn't abused by family members. It definitely needs looking into as allowing people merely to exist in such pain is inhuman.
Dirk Von Roden
says...
2:46pm Fri 21 Sep 12
getThisCoalitionOut
says...
9:56pm Fri 21 Sep 12
It's high time it was made legal here.
I do hope her 3 daughters were able to help each other on the journey back as it must have been so difficult for them.
pcurly
says...
2:25am Sat 22 Sep 12
123maisie
says...
8:45am Sat 22 Sep 12
en and great grandchildren, but she could not live with no quality of life. Our message is ,this is not for everyone but it was mums wish and her choice .Thank you all for your comments ,but don't need stupid comments .
Ihopenoonehasthisusername
says...
9:12am Sat 22 Sep 12
123maisie wrote:So sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how tough it's been for you and your family.
My Mum ,who is Jackie Meacock, had this condition for 7 years ,she tried every treatment offered,she fought so hard to try and live with this condition but life became unbearable .This was not something that was easy for her ,to leave her children,grandchildr
en and great grandchildren, but she could not live with no quality of life. Our message is ,this is not for everyone but it was mums wish and her choice .Thank you all for your comments ,but don't need stupid comments .
I agree it's not for everyone. But in situations where people have fought for many years and have come to that decision, I don't think they should have anyone stand in their way. I hope the law is changed soon.
Ihopenoonehasthisusername
says...
9:13am Sat 22 Sep 12
pcurly wrote:Shame on you.
I went to this place , when they offered me cheerios for breakfast I packed and left !
123maisie
says...
9:44am Sat 22 Sep 12
pcurly wrote:why would you find this funny????
I went to this place , when they offered me cheerios for breakfast I packed and left !
123maisie
says...
9:46am Sat 22 Sep 12
IhopenoonehasthisuseThank you.x
rname wrote:
123maisie wrote:So sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how tough it's been for you and your family.
My Mum ,who is Jackie Meacock, had this condition for 7 years ,she tried every treatment offered,she fought so hard to try and live with this condition but life became unbearable .This was not something that was easy for her ,to leave her children,grandchildr
en and great grandchildren, but she could not live with no quality of life. Our message is ,this is not for everyone but it was mums wish and her choice .Thank you all for your comments ,but don't need stupid comments .
I agree it's not for everyone. But in situations where people have fought for many years and have come to that decision, I don't think they should have anyone stand in their way. I hope the law is changed soon.
123maisie
says...
9:53am Sat 22 Sep 12
Goldenwight wrote:If the law was changed ,every case should be looked at as an individual case,my mum had to go through 6 months of questions ,answers,doctors reports ,paperwork galore before dignitas excepted her,and still had to see two doctors when she got there.
The issue here is not the right to die, nobody is denied that, although attempted suicide was a criminal offence in this Country within living memory.
No, the issue is whether or not third parties should be criminally prosecuted for assisting those who genuinely feel that theif lives are not worth continuing. And that assistance can be something as minor as unscrewing the childproof top on a bottle of tablets. And we are talking about a very small number of people.
If we contrast that with the number of unlawful killings caused by sheer incompetence or mind numbing stupidity which escape prosecution one might wonder whether it would be right and proper for some of our lawmakers to be put down as a menace to themselves and others.
AmboGuy
says...
11:30am Sat 22 Sep 12
123maisie wrote:Don't feed the troll.
pcurly wrote:why would you find this funny????
I went to this place , when they offered me cheerios for breakfast I packed and left !
mrroute
says...
6:46pm Sat 22 Sep 12
Sweet dreams Colin & Brenda West.
1styummymummy
says...
6:44am Sun 23 Sep 12
This isn’t about people being 'bumped off' for personal gain, i.e. lets get granny put down so we can get our inheritance early, let’s be realistic about this, these acts of greed have been going on for years anyway and those responsible are quite rightly brought to justice. This is about an individual’s right to choose to die with some dignity over being forced to live, sometimes without their dignity, often in agonising pain, at a time when they are ready and not when their illness takes them.
As long as safeguards are put in place and an individual process is put in place, I don’t think there is any risk for anyone.
My mother went to Dignitas recently, we were all with her, it's what she wanted. She had a very painful condition, Dystonia, which she could no longer tolerate. No amount of pain relief was able to control it. Every option had been explored in terms of her care, finally being told nothing more could be done.
She had all the support in the world but the pain overtook her, the disability that afflicted her overtook her too. Going to Dignitas was not any easy option for her. She decided that her quality of life was such that she couldn't and didn't want to continue living. She foresaw what lay ahead for her and after 71 years, 4 children, 9 grand-children and 6 great children, she was happy and fulfilled with what she had achieved but found she no longer could enjoy her life which included having all her family around her.
She would have preferred to stay in her home and die, but that wasn't an option so had to travel to Zurich.
Assisted Suicide is an emotive subject but one which modern society must face, with ever growing support for the right to have control over your right to choose, the powers that be cannot evade the subject forever and the debate for de-criminalising it will surely be on its first steps for consideration.
Donella Preisler
mr punch
says...
2:10am Mon 24 Sep 12
123maisie
says...
11:09am Mon 24 Sep 12
mr punch wrote:Thank you so much for your kind words mr punch
Very sad nd very brave at the same time. 123maisie, I have the utmost respect for your mother x
Durdabe
says...
2:28pm Mon 24 Sep 12
Life belongs to God. It is never our place to take our own life or someone else's life.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Let us pray for the deceased and pray for the family that God may give them strength for it is very sad to loose a loved one in any circumstance.
Roger Francais
says...
6:08pm Mon 24 Sep 12
1styummymummy
says...
8:49am Sun 30 Sep 12
If, as you say there is a God, why would he or she for that matter (who are we to know which sex 'they' are) inflict such agonsing pain on a human being?
This is not a platform for your religious beliefs, which I totally respect, we are all entitled to those, but please, spare us the religeous speech, God has no place in this. If God exisits then Jesus was born of the 'Virgin' Mary....hmm I remember from Biology at school something about sex education and where babies come from.....Anyway, negative views are made from people who havent walked in anothers shoes. What may be ok for Stephen Hawkins may not be ok for another. Pain is an individual burden and one which is endured by some but not by others.
Religeon has no place in this, its all about the rights over your own life and if/when your ready to go, in having the ability to be able to act on it without fear of reprisals, especially if help is needed to achieve this end. My mother should never have had to travel abroad to do this, but had no choice. Whilst a vast amount of Medical professionals quietly agree with a persons right to be able to end their life in such terriable circumstances they are afraid to speak out. We all know that for some people under palative care, it's already discretionary, it's already happening, lets bring it out into the open.
Durdabe
says...
11:05am Mon 1 Oct 12
I once had a friendly discussion with a nurse and she like you did not believe there is a God and that we were created by THE BIG BANG. I then asked her a simple question on how the big bag came about. She answered "I don’t know there must have been a super power that created it". Is there any other super power than God himself? If you are an atheist who believes there is no God, then your argument is appropriate to your belief.
I am not here to judge you I am just expressing my Christian views. God has given us the freedom to choose between right and wrong and it is up to us to choose. God said to Adam and Eve do not eat from this tree, but they chose to eat and as the Bible said they were punished.
I am not asking you to believe in what I have just said; I am just telling my Christian brothers and sisters that it is not right for anyone to take his own life no matter what.
As Christians we believe in the words of God written in the Holy Bible. “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
My mother and father had a very painful death then they went into a coma and peacefully passed away in a country where morphine was not available in the hospital. People suffering from cancer are now given morphine to reduce the pain until they pass away PEACEFULLY. Taking our own lives is not an option when it comes to Christianity. As you have the right for free speech so do I.
I respect your views if you think I am talking nonsense but it does not necessary mean that I agree to them.
Ihopenoonehasthisusername says...
9:47am Fri 21 Sep 12