Yesterday the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) co-hosted a My Death, My Decision-organised panel with parliamentarians to discuss assisted dying. At the meeting the speakers explained how assisted dying is an expression of fundamental values such as compassion and liberty. They debunked widespread myths and misinformation, such as conflict with palliative care and exaggerated risks of coercion. Humanists UK provides the secretariat to the APPHG.
Clare Turner, a retired counsellor and mother of two from Devon who has stage 4 breast cancer, said:
‘Scans show that I am dying. I don’t want to be in this situation but I fully accept it. I would be at peace with the process if I knew that assisted dying was one of the options available to me. I don’t fear death but I do fear the end of life.
‘I have an oak tree that sweeps over my garden. I lie under it and watch the owls and the stars. It provides shade for picnics with friends. It’s where I want to die; under the shade of my oak tree. I want to die feeling grateful for the miracle that is life.
‘I want a good death. Without the option of assisted dying I will be forced to choose suicide. I will be forced to die alone which makes me incredibly sad. I feel hurt by that prospect because I have tried to be a good person and a good citizen.’
Silvan Luley from Swiss assisted dying non-profit Dignitas explained how Switzerland has had its assisted dying laws for over 80 years. The law has been settled that whole time and public opposition is low. He said:
‘I have seen in Switzerland and internationally that assisted dying professionals co-work with palliative care professionals. We have found studies that doctor-patient trust goes up when assisted dying is available.’
‘There is a lot of talk in the UK about making an assisted dying law with safeguards. But to not have the law is to lack the major safeguard. Without an assisted dying law, you increase the risk of lonely, do-it-yourself suicide attempts, which can have terrible consequences. Having assisted dying laws is the right thing on compassionate grounds.’
Dr. Martin Scurr, GP, former Medical Director of St John’s Hospice and Daily Mail medical columnist, told MPs:
‘By assisting death I believe a doctor is meeting the four pillars of care: autonomy (it’s a response to the patient’s request for help), beneficence (it’s kind), non-maleficence (to do nothing would be maleficent), and justice (it’s fair). Some doctors say “do no harm”, but in some situations, to do nothing is to do harm.
‘It used to be routine practice for a doctor to meet a patient’s request to be eased into death. But the regulatory environment is now so strict. This is an answer to those who fear a situation of malpractice or coercion.’
Professor Emily Jackson, Professor of Law at LSE, specialising in medical law, told MPs:
‘There is a lot of misinformation and scaremongering from opponents to assisted dying. It is simply untrue that every jurisdiction which has introduced assisted dying has gone on to broaden eligibility criteria. For example, the criteria have remained static in Oregon and Washington State for decades.
‘There is clear international evidence that legalising assisted dying leads to improvements in palliative care. A wider group of people gain comfort that if things are worse they can access assisted dying… [Further,] coercion of the vulnerable does not arise.
‘In the UK, patients with capacity can already make decisions that will result in their death. Patients have the right to refuse life-prolonging treatment. In this circumstance, we already have mechanisms for doctors to decide if patients are under coercion. Why can’t we apply these mechanisms and these judgements in the assisted dying situation? We also already have excellent laws and systems in other situations where coercion needs to be eliminated. An example would be the protection of reproductive rights.’
Discussion also focused on power of attorney. It is already the case that financial power of attorney can be signed over without a lawyer present. So if someone wanted to exploit a dying elderly relative, this is a quite easy way to do it – much moreso than assisted dying would be. And yet power of attorney receives nowhere near the level of scrutiny that assisted dying does, from those that profess to fear coercion.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Kim Leadbeater MBE, will have its second reading on Friday 29 November. Humanists UK has welcomed the introduction of the Bill. The law will apply to England and Wales only. A private member’s bill in Scotland by Liam McArthur MSP has been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.
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Humanists defend the right of each individual to live by their own personal values, and the freedom to make decisions about their own life so long as this does not result in harm to others. Humanists do not share the attitudes to death and dying held by some religious believers, in particular that the manner and time of death are for a deity to decide, and that interference in the course of nature is unacceptable. We firmly uphold the right to life but we recognise that this right carries with it the right of each individual to make their own judgement about whether their life should be prolonged in the face of pointless suffering.
We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards, but the international evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective. We also believe that the choice of assisted dying should not be considered an alternative to palliative care, but should be offered together as in many other countries.
Read six reasons we need an assisted dying law.
Read more about our analysis of the assisted dying inquiry.
Read more about our campaign to legalise assisted dying in the UK.
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