Today MPs in the UK Parliament are debating the assisted dying bill which would enable competent adults who are terminally ill to choose to be provided with medical assistance to end their life. 82% of the population now want a change in the law. I am absolutely convinced that a change in the law is needed as a matter of urgency to stop the needless suffering of many.
Working in the funeral industry, talking with families about their loved ones deaths, also running a Death Cafe and talking with a variety of people from all walks of life has convinced me that change is needed. For too long we have been governed by legislation which is rooted in Christian sentiment. Only God can take life away many would argue. But man can control his own destiny. We were not given the choice to come into this world. We should be given the choice to leave this world and on our terms.
An assisted dying law has work in Oregon the USA for 18 years. In those 18 years there have been no cases of abuse and no calls to extend the law beyond terminally ill adults. That is because it works. It prevents unnecessary suffering at the end of life and provides dying adults with the choice to control their death, if that is their wish.
Under Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act the terminally ill patient must be able to self-administer and ingest the life-ending medication themselves and they can only be prescribed the medication after meeting a number of legal safeguards. These include:
- The patient must be 18 years or older
- The patient must be mentally competent
- The patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to their death within 6 months
Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill builds on the Oregon model but with these differences:
- Under the Assisted Dying Bill the life-ending medication is stored at the pharmacy until the terminally ill person decides they want to use it – in Oregon it can be kept in the patient’s home.
- Under the Assisted Dying Bill a doctor or nurse must deliver the life-ending medication to the patient when they want to use it. The doctor or nurse would check that the patient did not want to change their mind and would stay with the patient and their family. In Oregon the patient can ask a healthcare professional to be with them when they take the medication, but it is not a requirement of the law.
- The Assisted Dying Bill includes a ‘sunset clause’ which states that Parliament must review the law after 10 years, and that Parliament could repeal the law at this point. This is a unique safeguard that has not been used in any previous assisted dying legislation. It ensures that there is a formal review of how the law works in practice.
My book ‘The Catholic Woman’s Dying Wish explores one woman’s dying wish – to find her daughter before she dies. It is on Kindle until Sunday at 99p and also available in paperback. Check it out here: