THE trouble with assisted dying is that both sides can claim a
moral case. For those opposed, if it becomes legal, it will almost
certainly pave the way for more active forms of euthanasia, with
all the potential for abuse that this will bring. I can see now the
headlines about how granny was snuffed out in her care home because
she had become an inconvenience to her family and the staff;
followed by the usual public enquiries and hand-wringing.
Church people are familiar with the arguments against assisted
dying because they have been well and eloquently put, and they
remain valid. But there is another case to hear, which is that of
those who have lived through the terminal illness of helpless
relatives, and are now genuinely frightened that there will be no
one to help them, should a time come when life has become
intolerable.
Christians need to consider this case, even if, in the end, they
come down against it. We need to recognise that contemporary
medicine can keep very sick people alive for much longer now than
used to be possible: alive, but not necessarily free from deep
distress.
A second consideration is that there is no secret escape through
a doctor's discretion. When I was a child, I remember hearing my
parents talk about an acquaintance who was dying of cancer. When
things got bad, his doctor had ascertained that he did not want to
go on, and fixed a date to come round and deliver a fatal dose of
morphine. It was illegal, of course, but it probably happened more
often than we might imagine. Since then, however, the murders
committed by Harold Shipman have alerted the public to the
potential abuse of a GP's power.
If assisted dying becomes law, there will be safeguards and
protocols. But these will have their own impact. If I were
desperate to die, I might baulk at the process of getting my wishes
agreed by two doctors, with forms to sign, and so on and all the
distress that could cause to my family. A private process reached
quietly with a sympathetic doctor is one thing; getting legal
permission to die is quite another.
I still oppose the legalisation of assisted dying. But my main
reason now is a fear of the intrusion of the state into what I
believe should always be a private and hidden decision. It is
because it cannot be private and hidden any more that we agonise
about it, and wonder what liberty we could be losing in pursuit of
the greatest liberty of all: to control the time and manner of our
death.
The Revd Angela Tilby is Diocesan Canon of Christ Church,
Oxford, and Continuing Ministerial Development Adviser for the
diocese of Oxford.