From Sir Philip Bailhache.
I HAVE started to read around the ‘assisted dying’ debate and have discovered that what I first thought was a simple matter of personal choice is anything but that. Some seem to think that there is merit in changing the law ahead of the UK (a boastful echo of a ‘world-class hospital’), but I doubt that that is true. With difficult political or ethical issues, it is usually better to profit from the experience of a larger country so that we can avoid making the same mistakes. Proceeding cautiously is the policy that we have generally followed in the past.
‘Assisted dying’ gives the rather cosy and innocuous impression of a warm blanket, but it is better to call a spade a spade. What we are talking about is practitioner-administered euthanasia (PAE – where a doctor administers an injection of lethal drugs) and practitioner-assisted suicide (PA – where the doctor prescribes a similar lethal cocktail for the patient to take). The Dutch law is entitled, with admirable frankness, the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act. Oregon USA (apparently our model) uses the same type of circumlocution as assisted dying – their law is called the Death with Dignity Act.
It is, of course, possible to argue the case for both PAE and PAS. No one wants to see a relative dying in pain or discomfort. On the other hand, the vulnerable in our society, including the mentally ill, need protection too. Once the ethical and legal barriers against killing elderly people, or facilitating suicide, have been lowered, you are at the top of a very slippery slope, as the Canadians and Dutch have discovered. Numbers have soared in those countries.
This is not the place to argue the case for and against. The purpose of this letter is to encourage people to take the trouble to think about the issues before it is too late. Baroness Finlay (with Robert Preston) has written an excellent small book entitled Death by Appointment (£16.66 from Amazon). She writes from the perspective of an expert consultant in palliative care (she holds a professorship at Cardiff University and is a former president of the BMA), but she puts the arguments for and against with objectivity. It is well worth a read.
Join the discussion Email editorial@jerseyeveningpost.com or write to The Editor, Jersey Evening Post, PO Box 582, Jersey JE4 8XQ. Letters must include full name and postal address, which will be published. They should be no longer than 400 words and may be edited.
