Terminally ill man begs for new law as he ends his life in clinic
A TERMINALLY ILL man urged politicians to legalise assisted dying in a moving video message recorded shortly before his death.
Richard Selley, 65, said any law change would be “too late” for him but would enable others to “have a peaceful death at a time of their choosing”.
The retired headteacher, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2015, ended his own life in Switzerland yesterday.
He decided to travel to Zurich’s Dignitas clinic after the disease robbed him of the ability to walk, talk and swallow and left him a “prisoner in his own body”.
Choice
In his video message to Scotland’s politicians, Mr Selley said: “I hope that members of the Scottish Parliament support an assisted dying bill in the future. The momentum for a change in the law is growing.
“It will be too late for me but I hope that sometime soon, people in my position will have the choice to have a peaceful death at a time of their choosing.”
The avid cricket fan of Glenalmond, Perthshire, said he was “fortunate” to be able to afford the £10,000 to go to the Swiss clinic.
He added: “Having to be able to fly means that I am choosing to die earlier than I would prefer.
“If an assisted death was possible in Scotland, I would be able to die at a time of my choosing, at home.”
His wife Elaine yesterday thanked supporters for their “friendship, humanity, humour and kindness” and told how Mr Selley had “taken control of his own destiny”.
Writing on her blog, she said: “I will continue to fight for the human right of those who are terminally ill to choose how and when they die.
“The experience of travelling to Switzerland will never leave me. It was traumatic.
“No one should ever need to make that journey from a supposedly humane and compassionate country like Scotland.”
So far, two assisted suicide bills have failed to win approval at Holyrood, while several unsuccessful attempts have been made to legalise assisted dying at Westminster. Campaign group Dignity in Dying released Mr Selley’s video.
Its chief executive, Sarah Wootton, yesterday said: “Richard and Elaine have shown immense bravery in sharing their story and speaking out about the injustice they have suffered under the UK’s outdated, broken law.”
But Dr Gordon Macdonald, from group Care Not Killing, which opposes assisted dying, said: “Such a change in the law will put vulnerable people at risk of abuse and of coming under pressure to end their lives prematurely.”