Support is growing for assisted dying laws
The Bath campaign group for Dignity in Dying is pleased to report that on July 26 the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands voted to support a safeguarded assisted dying law. Jersey could be next. Assembly members clearly listened to the views of their citizens, when 85 per cent showed they want the choice should they become terminally ill, and they are in the last six months of life, not to have to suffer a protracted death against their wishes, when they find their suffering unbearable even with excellent palliative care. Leona Roberts, a member of the Falklands Legislative Assembly, said that it was all about individual choice and not a denial of the sanctity of life or need for care of the ill. Meanwhile, in the UK, many terminally ill adults continue to bear awful deaths: Noel Conway is having to challenge the Law Courts right now on this, whilst enduring the final stages of motor neurone disease. This is simply unkind, since mentally competent adult individuals should have the right to decide when enough is enough, and they are willing to take a life-ending prescribed medication, written up by one of the 55 per cent of UK doctors willing to do so. Others are forced to try to kill themselves at home or in Switzerland. Since our local hospices take a neutral stance on this we urge our MP, Wera Hobhouse, to question why Parliament continues to oppose such a crucial issue when momentum for having safeguarded assisted dying laws is building worldwide. Pauline Carroll Retired District Nurse Bath