Another serious issue! In this blog? Surely some mistake…. I’ll try to return to your regular programming of pictures of our friends drunk really soon. But first this…
In the UK active assisted suicide (a.k.a. assisted dying, a.k.a. euthanasia) is illegal.
“Since the 1961 Suicide Act, it is no longer a crime to commit suicide or attempt to do so. However, it remains unlawful, punishable by up to 14 years in prison, to ‘aid, abet, counsel or procure’ a suicide. And deliberately taking the life of another person constitutes murder, even if the person is dying and has asked to be killed. A patient’s refusal of treatment does not constitute suicide, which in law requires a ‘positive act’. Nor is it murder if, to relieve pain, a doctor administers a drug that as a side effect shortens the patient’s life—the ‘double-effect principle'” (The policeman’s dilemma, The Economist Oct 13, 2005).
I think some form of assisted suicide should be introduced. I realize the issues are tricky, but I suspect situations exist that trump the slippery-slope arguments. I don’t have any insights to add, I don’t have any experiences to draw on, but, as this is a blog, I do have a bunch of link for you 🙂
- The British Medical Association publish their views: “While the BMA opposes euthanasia primarily on the grounds that it is alien to the traditional ethos and moral focus of medicine, some of the most convincing arguments have been purely practical” (from Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide: do the moral arguments differ?.
- The Economist has run a number of articles, including The art of dying which lists the countries and states that permit euthanasia, and the conditions under which they permit it: Oregon, The Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland.
- The Wikipedia article on euthanasia (a horrible word) covers some interesting history.
- The last time a bill was introduced it was defeated in the Lords by 148 votes to 100 (2006). You can find an interesting write up from the National Council for Palliative Care, and the first report from the Lords is a good read.
- Dignity in Dying is the UK campaigning group.
So if you’re interested, there’s plenty to digest. If it’s an option you like to have (but hopefully never have to use), then you’ll probably want to start support it now: it’s going to take a long time to be introduced here.