Dignity in Dying

Returning to a controversial subject for which I have been criticised before on this blog, I would like to introduce you to someone who talks a lot of sense.

The lady on the left is Dr. Ann McPherson CBE. Ann qualified as a doctor in 1968 and was a general practitioner in Oxford for 30 years until 2008.

She is a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and Green College Oxford, and a patron of Dignity in Dying.

On Monday morning she appeared on the BBC Breakfast programme to highlight the issue of 'physician assisted death'. As I understand it, she supports the idea in principle  - for people of sound mind with limitted time left to live who find their pain insufferable.

Earlier this year, she wrote the following in the Guardian :

"I am dying of pancreatic cancer. I wish I wasn't. But dying isn't a failure on my part, it is part of life. I wish to live as long as possible, but not at the expense of enduring an undignified death. In the final days or weeks of my life, if I consider my suffering to be unbearable, I would like the choice to die at home at a time of my choosing surrounded by my loved ones."

You can read the full article by clicking >here< and I urge you to do so.

The reason for her appearance was to reopen this debate prior to the GPs conference later this week. She knows it is an important subject and wants to ensure that the debate is kept in the public eye.

I encourage you to find out more about this issue because, who knows, it may well effect you one day...

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The right to die

A wee while back, I published a post on euthanasia and the right to die on my own terms. I was pilloried.

However, the issue has now again come to a head with the news that Tony Nicklinson, 56,  wants his wife to be allowed to help him die without the risk of being prosecuted for murder.

Tony suffers from so called "locked in syndrome". This means that he can only communicate by blinking or nodding his head at letters on a board.


His lawyers say he is "fed up with life" and does not wish to spend the next 20 years in this condition.

He doesn't want his life prolonged on these terms. Would you? Sadly, his only option is to refuse food and starve himself to death. Not very pleasant - and who's to say that some do-gooder wouldn't go to court for an order to force feed him?

He wants to know if his wife will be prosecuted if she helps him end his life. It's a difficult situation and is there anyone out there who thinks that if his wife does help him, she will ever forgive herself. I feel for them both.

His lawyers argue that the current murder law infringes Mr Nicklinson's rights to respect for his private life under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Regrettably, this bring into question once again who exactly is the highest court in this land. Let's not go there as, for once, this is not the most important question.

The most important question is, of course, whether this country will respect the right of its citizens over their own destinies. It is about time for this decision. If this man brings it about, then he will not have suffered for nothing. He has my total respect.

I sincerely hope that the legal eagles will see common sense in this case and let the man die legally and with dignity without persecuting his wife. She feels bad enough already...

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Euthanasia - The only way to go

An awful lot of guff is talked about human rights and none more so than about the right to life.

What about the right to die?

With dignity?

After all, it's my life and if I have had enough, then why should some goody two shoes know-it-all religious nut tell me that I have no right to end it?

If a dog has cancer and is suffering we take it to the vet and put it out of its misery. If a horse breaks its leg, we shoot it. If we fancy a steak or a chop, we don't think twice about killing the poor cow, sheep or pig. So what is it that is so special about the human being? After all we are just another mammal only smarter - well, unless you compare us to dolphins anyway...

"Ah", I hear you say "only humans have souls and God made us in his own image and gave us dominion over the beasts of the Earth." Absolute bollocks! Anyone who believes that God is a man with a big white beard and sits on a throne in the clouds is a demented lunatic and should be locked up immediately for his own safety and the safety of others.

The fact is that there is most likely no God, and even if there is then any man arrogant enough to think he has a direct line to Him and that He listens to what he says is deluding himself. If there is a God, then the creator of the universe is far to busy to notice this entire planet, let alone any individual on it. If the sun exploded tomorrow, then in the great scheme of things, it simply wouldn't matter. No-one out there would notice.

The fact is that the greatest human right we could possibly have is the right to decide what to do with our own lives. If I am suffering and I have had enough, then I want the right to end it. I want the right to ask someone to help me. I want the right for them not to be prosecuted for their compassion and compliance in helping me.

It must be my decision and mine alone and I would not condone for a moment anyone else taking that decision for me by either prolonging my life against my wishes or deciding to end it for me.

So put all the safeguards in place by all means but at least have the courage to grant me dignity and a death free from protracted suffering. After all, we extend that right to animals, so why not humans...

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