Uni lecturer speaks out against assisted dying
GUERNSEY TO VOTE ON ALLOW PEOPLE TO END THEIR OWN LIFE
A Sunderland academic has spoken out against assisted dying as a British island considers a bill which would allow people to end their own life with medical help.
Proposals which could see people who are terminally ill, mentally competent, and have less than six months to live, end their lives with the help of a doctor, are expected to be voted on in May in Guernsey.
The decision, if voted through, would make the Crown dependency the first place in the British Isles to allow assisted dying.
The move could open the door for people from mainland UK who want to die, and meet the criteria, to travel to the island and take advantage of the new law.
Dr Kevin Yuill, from the University of Sunderland, is one of the most prominent voices against legalised assisted suicide in the UK, and has spoken out against the development in Guernsey.
“We should not as a society sanction the destruction of the lives of others,” said the academic, who is an affirmed atheist.
“No one is saying that doctors should not occasionally take action to end a patient’s suffering in the last hours, days or even weeks of life; it is that we should not, as a society, sanction the destruction of the lives of others.
“I oppose legalised assisted suicide for the same reason I oppose capital punishment; it is wrong to take a life simply because it is wretched.”
The Guernsey proposal is based on the “Oregon model” – which states people must have a terminal illness before they can be considered. This has so far been adopted in six US states, as well as Canada and the Australian state of Victoria. New Zealand is considering legislation.
The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg have more permissive laws on assisted dying, based on applicants’ suffering. It is also restricted to citizens of those countries.
Switzerland allows assisted dying on compassionate grounds to residents and non-residents.
If Guernsey’s Parliament passes the assisted bill, it will be subject to an 18-month consultation period.
In its position as a British crown dependency, Guernsey is able to set its own laws, but these then have to be approved by a privy council, a body of senior Westminster politicians.
But, Dr Yuill warned: “Once you legalise assisted suicide by doctor, it becomes a medical treatment. And can we please call someone purposefully ingesting poison suicide rather than the euphemistic “assisted dying”?
“Then you are left justifying why more and more people who are suffering should not have this treatment. And how can you deny medical treatment to anyone – including children – and call yourself humane?”