Review of ‘Better off Dead?’
Actress and activist Liz Carr might well be a familiar face from her work on Silent Witness or The Witcher, but in Better Off Dead? (BBC/iPlayer) we very intentionally hear her own voice.
She was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition at the age of seven; while there have been previous documentaries on assisted dying there has not been ‘one from our perspective, from disabled people like me who aren’t religious, but are just really afraid of these laws’. Until now.
She takes us through some of the groundhog-day aspects of the issue returning to parliament 8 times in 20 years. When she travels to Canada, this too becomes almost dystopian as we hear a cheerful automated voice on the 24-hour MAID hotline in Ontario to help those who wish to end their life; it seems easier for people to access MAID rather than the healthcare or support they desperately need.
Liz’s dark humour is very present– as is the joy and vibrancy of her conversations with fellow disabled friends. Despite the overwhelming frankness, faith isn’t mentioned, but as Liz points out the double standard – ‘if a non-disabled person wants to commit assisted suicide it’s seen as a tragedy, ifadisabled person does, it’s a release’–the connections to identity, value and spirituality are clear.
Rebecca Chapman Church of England Newspaper May 24 2024
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