It's such a slippery slope isn't it Pete? Turning off a ventilator, and one could progress to aborting a foetus for having Downes Syndrome, euthanasia for the terminally ill, or the elderly, or those with dementia... I'm old enough to remember the aftermath of WW2, and the horrific things that were revealed about Hitler's Germany. Anyone who wasn't 'perfect', 'Aryan', physically 'normal' etc was deemed to be suitable for destruction, and they were killed forthwith. Utterly wicked.

I suppose some unfortunate person has to decide what is the best thing to do, but it must be horrendously difficult. The only justifiable reason would be to consider the suffering and quality of life of the person, and whether intervention to save or prolong life is in their best interests. One could never actually euthanase a human being, but I suppose one could allow nature to take its course.

I know it will sound trite, but as I have no children, I have to relate to my experiences of putting a cat to sleep. It's the most dreadful decision, but we considered the lack of hope for a cure, the suffering the animal was going through and the advice of the vet. The grief was awful, but we still stand by our actions. Please don't anyone think I'm comparing a cat with Charlie, but it does help me to understand just a tiny bit of what the Gards are going through.