Legalising assisted suicide in the UK would devalue human life and place vulnerable groups at greater risk of abuse, a charity has said.
CARE has issued the warning in a week when MPs will get the chance to enter a ballot to introduce a Private Member’s Bill of their choice.
This morning, Dame Esther Rantzen called on parliamentarians to introduce an assisted suicide Bill. A previous Bill was roundly defeated in 2015.
Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE, commented:
“Polling carried out over the summer found that fewer than half of 18-24-year-olds in the UK support legalising assisted suicide. In addition, 56 per cent fear it would lead to a culture where suicide becomes more normalised, and 43 per cent fear that some patients would feel pressure to end their lives because of healthcare inequality. The issue is not straightforward. Whether people believe doctors participating in patients’ suicides is permissible or not, they fear negative consequences.
“People on both sides of the debate are motivated by a right desire to see their loved ones have a ‘good death’. We regret that much of the public rhetoric around this issue does not make the reality of the process transparent. Assisted suicide is medically dangerous and ethically unsound. It compounds the suffering of patients and their loved ones. When people understand more about what’s involved and read evidence of abuses and expansion of laws their views can shift quite radically.”
Mr Hendry added:
“The moral framework that underpins our approach to healthcare in the UK is based on the Christian belief that human beings, made in God’s image, are endowed with inherent dignity, and worthy of strong protection. And that a person’s value is not diminished by an illness or any other factor. Involving doctors in the suicides of some people sends a regressive message that some lives are not worth living. The dangers of endorsing this idea are clear and were underlined in past parliamentary debates.
“Instead of legalising assisted suicide, which undermines human dignity and puts vulnerable groups at greater risk of abuse and harm, UK politicians should ensure that investment and infrastructure are in place to ensure high quality palliative care for all people. The UK has huge work to do in this area, given a chronic underfunding of this aspect of healthcare. We’d also emphasise the need to enhance suicide prevention, and work towards a society where all lives are considered precious.”
