Yak & Natter

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.

In the process of upgrading myself from Atheist to Radical Atheist (after that it’s Angry Atheist then Person-you-cross-the-street-to-avoid), I thought I’d check out some of the relevant organizations in the UK. There seems to be two main ones: British Humanist Association (“for the one life we have”) and the National Secular Society (“challenging religious privilege”).

Secular? Humanist? I’m not sure what those terms really mean. To save you a couple of clicks, here’s the definitions you’ll find in Wikipedia:

Humanism is a comprehensive life stance that upholds human reason, ethics, and justice, and rejects supernaturalism, pseudoscience and superstition.

And for Secularism:

Secularism is generally the assertion that certain practices or institutions should exist separately from religion or religious belief. […] In the extreme, it is an ideology that holds that religion has no place in public life.

I joined both the BHA and the NSS to figure out if either of them are worth supporting. My apologies to the organizers if any of this is harsh, but it’s the impression I’ve gained, rightly or wrongly…

The NSS is, in essence, a news feed. It organizes some events that look good, but I don’t actually see it doing anything as such. The newsletter I get though the post seems mostly self-congratulatory. I won’t be renewing a membership there.

The BHA looks like a political lobbying organization. I’m not sure I’m particularly fond of lobbying, but if that’s the game that needs to be played, so be it. They turn up to party conferences and talk to people, they give you the information you need if you want to take any action, they’re the ones who seem to be doing something. They can count on my continued support.

There’s also a Brighton and Hove Humanist Society, which I know nothing about.