Lords debate Euthanasia Bill

Friday, 6 June 2003 12:00 AM

The House of Lords will today re-launch the ongoing argument over euthanasia by debating a bill proposed by Lord Joffe.

Recent polls suggest that a majority of the public feel there are cases where people suffering should be allowed assistance to end their life, and there are signs that the medical profession feels the same way.

The Bill has received support from Karen Sanders, chair of the ethics forum of the Royal College of Nursing, who is reported in the Guardian today as saying that medical professionals feel a sense of failure at not being able to help the patient in the way they would like.

Her views are personal, and do not reflect the official position of the Royal College of Nursing, but legalisation in Switzerland and the prominent case of Dianne Pretty has raised new issues for the debate and for professionals.

While Dianne Pretty publicised the plight of those people who do not wish to suffer the worst aspects of their terminal illness, she also made a case for those that wish to die in familiar surroundings and in the company of loved ones.

This is in contrast to three people who have chosen to end their lives by travelling to Switzerland where a clinic helps people to end their lives.

Although one of these cases involved a man suffering from motor neurone disease, the other two were a largely able bodied couple, one of whose only long-term illness was diabetes, which can be controlled.

To prevent such cases, the bill suggests that only people suffering from terminal illness, or with progressive debilitations will qualify. The medical profession regards terminal illnesses as those that will be fatal within six months.

The Government has not committed to legalisation of euthanasia and in previous debates politicians have raised concerns that legalisation would alter the pressures on the NHS to provide care.

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