Assisted dying

From The Times
September 26, 2009
Assisted dying
This move to liberalise, although not without its rationale, is profoundly flawed

Sir, There is an exceptionally strong argument against liberalisation of legislation on assisted dying (report, Sept 24), found in the bitter experience of other countries and regions where the law has been relaxed. Both Oregon in the US and Northern Territory in Australia liberalised and soon had a disaster on their hands as elderly and unwell people reported sensing a growing feeling of being a burden on their relatives. In both cases the law was quickly tightened again. A related lesson is the case of the Netherlands where, once the idea of the sanctity of life had been lost through liberalisation of assisted suicide, involuntary euthanasia eventually became commonplace.

This move to liberalise, although not without its rationale, is profoundly flawed. Whatever our personal position may be on the question of faith, there is no denying the demonstrable disaster that liberalisation has been elsewhere. And whatever our feelings on the subject, learning from the mistakes of others wherever possible is wiser than repeating them.

Andrea Minichiello-Williams

Barrister and Executive Director,

The Christian Legal Centre