Allowing agony is wrong

I SUPPORT Mike Gaffney and his efforts to get a well-considered voluntary assisted dying bill through the Tasmanian parliament. I also congratulate Dying with Dignity Tasmania and its epic efforts in this cause, especially Margaret Sing who has been the tireless standard-bearer for VAD.

Objectors point to palliative care as the answer, but it isn’t always and people end up no longer able to express their wish to end their lives when everyone knows there is no way back and the way ahead is only more pain. When death becomes inevitable it is morally wrong it should be allowed to occur in a state of agony. Doctors swear to prolong life, but they should not presume they must allow a dying person to be tortured by disease when it is in their power to alleviate that suffering. They should have mercy and be adequately protected when they are merciful.

In this cosseted, over-protected, highly technological society of ours, the desire to be let to die, freely expressed by a sane person, must come to be regarded as a basic human right. Religious groups (many of which now lack moral integrity themselves) and religious law-makers should not presume they can tell others what to do with their own lives, provided that what they do does not harm others. Politicians are there to ensure that what should be a basic human right is not abused. They are not elected to deny that right. It is all about the freedom of the individual to choose. Brian Stafford Sandy Bay