Life is a terminal condition

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3682

Published 14 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3682
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3682

Letters

Assisted dying debate

Life is a terminal condition

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Lord Carlile’s views are well known,¹ ² but many can envisagediffering thresholds and circumstances that are worse than deathand not restricted to terminal illness. Since life itself isa terminal condition, there is a refreshing sense of realismin the possibility under Swiss law of assisted suicide in casesof unbearable suffering that is not the result of a terminalillness.

The attack on the World Trade Centre evidently led to some peoplecommitting suicide by leaping from the windows rather thansuffer prolonged injury and death from the fire. Following theseterrible circumstances, some people with religious convictionsfound comfort in knowing that the death of a relative had arisenfrom the unfolding alternatives rather than a deliberate actof suicide.³ In the current and different context should onebe constrained to the alternatives for the religious reasonsof others, or by the concerns of those who would . . . [Full text of this article]