The right to die

SIR – Perhaps Dame Esther Rantzen’s deeply moving plea over assisted dying (report, December 22) can achieve what the opinion of between 70 and 80 per cent of the British population has so far failed to do.

What level of support for a change in the law does the Government require before it responds to the wishes of the people?

Doug Clark

Currie, Midlothian

SIR – While I fully respect Dame Esther Rantzen’s views on assisted dying, we need to take the utmost care that any debate on this subject is informed not just by personal anecdote and emotional argument, but also by drawing on factual evidence and clinician-based experience.

Any suggestion that the Church of England’s view on the matter has wavered, meanwhile, is misconceived. The subject was extensively debated at the Church of England’s General

Synod in July 2022, following a private members’ motion that I introduced. The debate was a full and comprehensive one within the time allowed, and the final vote a strong statement of continuing support for the current legislation on assisted suicide.

The key to avoiding the kind of death that Dame Esther fears is increased funding for palliative care, which successive governments have failed to provide. This would help to ensure access to the very best that palliative care can offer at the time when it is needed. Focusing efforts on changing the law can only detract from this fundamental goal.

Dr Simon Eyre FRCGP

Eastbourne, East Sussex

SIR – Mike Cobb (Letters, December 22) states that he does not want assisted dying to be an option for those facing terminal illness because his treatment has allowed him to outlive his original prognosis.

He misses the point that those hoping for the possibility of an assisted death when facing terminal illness are not suicidal. They don’t want to die, but they are dying. The few people who have an assisted death wait until their suffering is unbearable. If they outlive their prognosis they can remain reassured by the fact that an assisted death is an option if they require it.

Mr Cobb responded to his treatment. But many do not, and they and their loved ones would take great comfort from the availability of a compassionate choice. Dr Jacky Davis

Chair, Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying

London NW5

SIR – A year or two ago I watched on television a fascinating debate on the subject of assisted dying in a packed House of Lords.

The debate did two things for me. First, it demonstrated the need for the Lords, with amazingly extensive expertise on every aspect of the subject on display. Secondly, the debate illustrated to me (as a lawyer) the substantial difficulty in drafting a safe and effective law to provide for assisted dying. Christopher W Robson Bedale, North Yorkshire