Hope that assisted dying could lessen suffering for patients and families

sir – My wife died of cancer nearly four years ago. The final stage in hospital lasted a week and was the worst period of my life. The process consisted of pumping her full of drugs while denying her water. Watching her mouth reaching for and trying to suck on damp cotton buds, used to keep her lips moist, was heartbreaking. The process haunts me still.

I am not critical of hospital staff. They were following the procedures and were compassionate and kind. However, I hope that assisted dying (Letters, March 16) is allowed in this country in the not-too-distant future. I would very much like others not to have to go through what I experienced.

Terence Moseley

London SE13

sir – Well done Dame Esther Rantzen (Letters, March 15). When the vet has come to my house and put my dogs to sleep, the whole family has been there, all stroking and whispering their last goodbyes behind a vale of tears. I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to die the same way.

Dame Esther is a shining star. Tricia Barnes

Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire

sir – May I reassure Telegraph readers that people in my little corner of Canada have not taken to the streets to protest the Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID) laws (Letters, March 16).

Are there too many people taking MAID for the wrong reasons? Perhaps. If so, we need to work harder to prevent this.

However, I watched as a good friend’s incurable, debilitating and worsening disease took its toll until last year, when he applied for MAID, went through the process and died – bravely, in my eyes – on his own terms.

Ultimately, it is the individual’s choice. We should not be critical or interfere.

Peter Bull

New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada sir – Bad deaths caused by inadequate palliative care are different to those where the issue is the person’s feelings of loss of control and independence. The former can be addressed by adequate palliative care. But the latter are of great concern to those of us who care for people with disabilities.

As the mother of an adult daughter with multiple disabilities, I’ve been told by compassionate people how much of a burden our daughter must be, and how life must be tragic and difficult. Suffering is projected on to us by those who would not want to live “like that”. Some suggest that we would all be better off if she was no longer with us.

Enshrining such inaccurate and discriminatory attitudes in law would entrench the view that some lives, however short, are less worth living, and that some people would be better off dead.

Dr Pia Matthews

St Mary’s University Twickenham, Middlesex