by Jack Lawther, Christian Today
In June 2017, Colin Campbell was due to die at Swiss euthanasia clinic Dignitas.
He had been struggling with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) since 1995, but his outlook on life changed when after living alone in a second floor flat and losing mobility, he began to feel like a prisoner in his own home. As he slowly lost contact with friends and suffered from other poor health outcomes, Colin decided to end his life.
Everything changed for Colin when he met Rona. Rona also has MS and could see that Colin simply wasn’t getting the help and support he needed to live a full and independent life. She went out of her way to help him secure the social support that he needed – better living conditions and even a mobility scooter to help him get out and about.
With these improvements to his life, not to mention the social connections he now enjoyed, Colin chose not to go through with his scheduled death at Dignitas. Reflecting on his change of mind, Rona commented: “He didn’t need to die; he needed support.”
Colin’s story is a reminder of the difficulties that disabled people face every day, how these difficulties can lead to feelings of despair and anguish, and how such feelings can be alleviated when authorities uphold their duty to provide proper services, equipment, and social interaction to help disabled people flourish.