Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Feature

Assisted suicide: the fight goes on

BMJ 2009; 339 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2868 (Published 16 July 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2868

Rapid Response:

Re: Assisted suicide -- Changing the law isn't the answer

Lord Carlile must surely be aware that neither the Swiss Penal Code
nor Dignitas ( and Ex-International ) necessarily require members to be
terminally ill when they seek an assisted suicide. But they have to be
able to show that they are suffering unbearably. It is also distasteful to
judge the worth of disabled opponents/supporters of Lord Falconer`s
amendment according to their degree of disability. Obviously everybody
whether disabled or not should have maximum freedom of choice in this most
personal of decisions. It is perhaps amazing that as many as 120 UK
residents have been able to end their lives in Switzerland bearing in mind
both the complexity and cost of making the necessary arrangements.

Competing interests:
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

21 July 2009
Don C Aston
Retired
34, Burman Road, Shirley, Solihull B90 2BG