The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Woman’s regrets over dying mother’s ordeal
Assisted death campaigner says experience strengthened her beliefs
A woman has spoken of her regret at not being able to “speed up” the death of her dying mother in her final weeks of life.
Moira Symons, 60, Tayside Group coordinator for assisted dying campaign group Friends at the End, said she cannot understand why pets can be put out of their misery – yet the same cannot be extended to people to help end their suffering.
Moira, whose mother Sheila died of kidney failure in 2013 aged 82, said: “I was my mother’s carer for five years, but in her final weeks I couldn’t do the one thing she asked of me: I couldn’t speed up her death. I have always believed in assisted dying. Watching mum’s suffering just reinforced my views.”
Moira, a semi-retired freelance trainer, contacted The Courier after reading last week about Dundee man Dave Finlayson, who fears waiting to travel to Switzerland to end his life could mean he might not be well enough to go.
The 67-year-old retired heating surveyor has motor neurone disease and is among the many Scots with a disabling terminal illness who want Scotland to become the first nation in the UK to legalise assisted suicide.
However, pro-life campaigners, including Care Not Killing, say the law provides an important deterrent and it should not be changed.
They fear vulnerable people could be pressurised into ending their lives prematurely and there is a need to ensure care is properly funded.
Moira, who has been a member of Friends at the End for nine years, said it agrees care should be properly funded.
However, she said people should have freedom of choice, pointing out how a survey in The Courier in 2014 suggested 83.4% of respondents wanted to see a change in the law.
“We want to change the law in Scotland so those with a terminal illness or incurable condition, causing unbearable suffering, have the right to a dignified, humane and compassionate end to their lives, at a time and place of their choosing,” she said.
“We don’t feel that only those who are terminally ill should be allowed help to die. People who are suffering unbearably aren’t all terminally ill.”
Last summer the organisation, based in Glasgow, set up local groups, including a Tayside one which held its first meeting in August.
She added: “We are keen to grow the group and would welcome anyone who shares our aims, whether they want to just come to meetings to talk with people of similar views or want to get actively involved in campaigning.”
The group next meets at Number Ten in Constitution Road, Dundee, at 7pm on Tuesday. Moira said anyone wanting to attend, or looking for further information can phone the office on 0141 356 4222 or contact her by email on symons.moira@gmail.com
The debate over the rights and wrongs of assisted suicide is once again in the spotlight. It is an argument that quite understandably generates much passion on both sides.
Today we report the harrowing tale of Moira Symons, who watched in horror as her mother endured a painful, drawn out death.
Moira is a member of the campaign group Friends at the End which is calling for a legal change to enable assisted dying in such cases.
Interestingly, the Director of Public Prosecutions for England, Wales and Northern Ireland previously issued guidance making it clear that family or friends who travelled with a loved one to the Swiss suicide group Dignitas would not risk prosecution.
No such guidance has been provided north of the border, yet the country could have taken an even more dramatic step back in 2015 when Holyrood voted on a Bill first laid down by the late Margo MacDonald.
A victim of Parkinson’s disease, her case was taken up by Green Party leader Patrick Harvie but was eventually defeated by 82 votes to 36.
However, even such a relatively decisive vote has failed to put the issue to bed.
There is certainly sympathy for the cause, and it will be interesting to see if the growth in local Friends at the End groups will lead to fresh political pressure.