November Blog: Life or Death

THIS is very, very tricky but very, very important. It’s life and death. At the end of November, the Assisted Dying bill will have its second reading in Parliament. (The definition of assisted dying is a terminally-ill person receiving lethal drugs from a medical practitioner, which the person administers themselves.) Similar legislation exists in Switzerland (since 1942), Austria, some US states, Canada, Spain, Colombia and New Zealand.

The person must be over 18, have decision-making capacity, be expected to die within six months, make two separate declarations (witnessed and signed) and satisfy two doctors that they’re eligible. A High Court judge will make a ruling based on evidence and questioning; coercion will carry a 14-year prison sentence.

Dame Esther Rantzen, who has stage-4 lung cancer, has been a high-profile advocate for this legislative change. She wants to be able to choose if she feels her life isn’t worth living. Many view it as an act of kindness, enabling seriously-ill people a peaceful exit. Every year 650 terminally-ill people end their lives, often in desperate isolation.

Helping someone take their life is a criminal offence under the 1961 Suicide Act: it’s argued that existing legislation prevents manipulation or pressure, however subtly applied. Others express  fears about what’s called ‘the slippery slope’, anxious about the law being extended in future. Recently, some MPs have questioned NHS capacity, observing that it’s already creaking at the seams.

It’s true, though, that the issue is only-too-real for many and that a suffering person has been helped to die by a loved one who couldn’t stand by helplessly. We should note that the Crown Prosecution Service announced in 2022 its intention to revise its stance on mercy killing, stating justice can sometimes ‘be achieved by not prosecuting.’

Last year a poll found 65% of UK people believe a doctor should assist an adult to end their life voluntarily. However, the Vatican is opposed to such a measure, describing it as ‘intrinsically evil…..in every situation or circumstance.’ Other religions hold similar views, it seems.

Do people have to continue to suffer? That sounds evil to me. Hospices provide excellent end-of-life care for those who want it. We can’t force people into hospices, even if there were enough.

Did you see the drama ‘Whose Life is It Anyway?’ It’s a powerful piece of work highlighting the importance of really hearing the patient’s voice without imposing system control. If this bill becomes law … and there’s no guarantee of that … we have to be absolutely certain that we act on only the individual’s wishes and not those of other interested parties. Terminally-ill people are not a nuisance. They’re not a burden and must not be persuaded otherwise.

People change their minds. My mother told us she didn’t want to live; she asserted that she’d thought it through. Her decision was, she said, final. But it wasn’t. When a paramedic with a disarming bedside manner appeared, my mother smilingly decided to give life another go. Hurrah!

Our safeguards must be so rigorous, so robust, allowing sufficient time and checks. The affected person, the terminally-ill person has to be the one in charge.