by Sally Beck, TCW
LABOUR’s legalised euthanasia Bill is proving deeply unpopular. MPs describe it as ‘rushed’, ‘fundamentally flawed’ and ‘chaotic’. If passed, the country’s collective mindset will change for ever, introducing the concept that in ill health, physical or mental, we can become a burden to ourselves, our families and the State, and it might be better to be put out of our misery like a sick pet.
In 2012, father of two Tony Nicklinson, 58, lost a High Court bid to allow doctors to end his life. After a stroke, Tony developed locked-in syndrome, which is total body paralysis without affecting lucidity. He described it as a ‘living nightmare’, unable to do anything for himself. If he had a simple itch, someone had to scratch it for him. It was hell.
I went to see him two months before he died and we communicated through his wife, Jane, a nurse, and an alphabet board. I also met his grown-up daughters Lauren and Beth. They clearly loved their dad but suffered with him. It was a highly emotional experience.
I understood and sympathised with Tony’s desire to end his life. Paralysis meant he physically could not kill himself, but if a family member provided lethal assistance, police could arrest them for murder. Clearly no one wanted that. In the end, Tony contracted pneumonia and went downhill rapidly, refusing food.
It seemed obvious he should have had a choice, but . . . legalised euthanasia is open to abuse not only from relatives, but from governments too. We see that clearly in Canada which for nine years, has offered state-sponsored suicide. Critics say it has gone from a compassionate option for the terminally ill to a predatory system, and now organisations are pushing for children to access Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Activity books in schools, introduce children aged six to 12 to the concept of MAiD. Such is the concern over aggressive marketing that anti-MAiD campaigners are encouraging Canadian citizens to carry ‘Do Not Euthanise’ (DNE) cards.