Published 14 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3762
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3762

Letters

Assisted dying debate

A baroness replies

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

Delamothe is right about one thing: we should not equate disability with terminal illness.1 Not all disabled people are terminally ill, though many terminally ill people are disabled by their illness. The vulnerability of disabled people to collateral harm from the legalisation of assisted dying depends on the impact of their illness, their degree of dependence on others, and the beliefs of some that their lives are less worth living. Many disabled people are more vulnerable than most, as Delamothe seems to recognise, albeit somewhat grudgingly.

The strident campaign to legalise assisted suicide for the terminally ill is being built around someone who is disabled and chronically rather than terminally ill. Many disabled people are like this. Therefore it is not surprising that they are concerned about the underlying message: if you have a disabling and degenerative illness the way should be cleared for you to have assisted suicide.

One . . . [Full text of this article]

Ilora G Finlay, professor of palliative medicine1

1 Cardiff University and Velindre NHS Trust, Cardiff CF14 2TL

finlayi@parliament.uk


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