Dear Sir,
The ‘name and addressed supplied’ writer in last week’s Newton News, misses the point as he didn’t give his/her name, I will try to address the writer as him. I have been through the people dying from cancer in my family. My mother-in-law had cancer and died at 56 my brother-in-law, a fire officer, died at 54 with cancer, then my sister-in-law also died of cancer. In each case, they had the treatment of the hospice.
I oppose the legalisation of assisted suicide out of concern for the good of every person in society, the protection of this good in law, and the spiritual and pastoral care of the sick and dying.
My opposition is a matter of human reason, as well as religious faith: assisted suicide is inherently wrong and the evidence from other jurisdictions shows there can be no safe or limited assisted suicide law.
Clarity of language is central to effective public debate on important moral issues. The use of the term ‘assisted dying’ in this inquiry endorses the euphemism that assisted suicide means compassionate assistance in dying rather than the prescription of lethal medication. The ten reasons were used in evidence at the Health and Social Care Committee in 2023.
1/ Life is a gift and equally valuable, even in times of suffering;
2/ Assisted suicide is based on a flawed idea of autonomy;
3/ Assisted suicide is based on a misleading view of compassion;
4/ Calling assisted suicide ‘dignity in dying’ ultimately passes judgement on the value of human life;
5/ Assisted suicide undermines the medical duty to care for patients;
6/ Assisted suicide undervalues the lives of people with disabilities;
7/ People may choose assisted suicide because they feel like a burden;
8/ We cannot know for sure if people seeking assisted suicide have full mental capacity;
9/ Legalising assisted suicide is likely to lead to a slippery slope;
10/ Investing in palliative care is a better way to support people suffering at the end of life.
Rather than legalising assisted suicide, I, along with others, strongly support greater Government investment in the availability and accessibility of specialist palliative care across the country. I would like to reiterate the Catholic Church’s commitment to protecting and valuing life at all stages, no matter how physically or psychologically limited, and our opposition to assisted suicide as an attack on the inherent dignity of human life.
Vince Crosby