November 15, 2024
Crazy Safeguard Overload in the UK Bill Debate
Sometimes you have to wonder who dreams up these so-called ‘safeguards’ whenever assisted dying is up for discussion.
This week, politicians in the UK bragged that their assisted dying bill would be ‘the strongest most robust piece of legislation on this issue in the world’. (Read the most difficult to qualify to use).
Hard to argue with that.
But it does make you wonder if this is a goal of ’stronger and more safeguards ‘ is worth having?
Who, exactly, are we trying to reassure here?
To be known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – this new law is said to ‘make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to be given assistance to end their own life’.
The drafters of the Bill have elected to apply the most restrictive of conditions – eg. terminally ill with < 6 months to live.
Now it turns out that around one month of those precious 6 months of life will be tied up in bureaucracy.
The ‘patient’ / person must make 2 separate declarations about wanting to die. These must be signed and witnessed.
- Then there must be 2 independent doctors who must assess you.
This criteria seems to assume there is no NHS crisis, no doctor shortage etc.
- There must be> 7 days between these doctor assessments.
If you get to the next stage, your application is sent off to a High Court judge.
This criteria assumes that there is no overload and backlog in the courts.
- This Judge must hear from at least one of the doctors but may also want to question the patient him/herself.
If you pass this stage there is another wait period of 14 days.
Of the requisite ‘6 months to live’ of the patient, it is safe to say that best part that one of these 6 months will be given over to the qualification procedure.
It has always been Exit’s view that if a person is so sick that death is the preferred option, the last thing they want/ need is to be jumping through bureaucratic hoops like this.
It is as though this safest of safe Bills has been drafted by people who have never been close to someone at the end of life.
That is, someone who is so tired that they just want to go.
Will someone please tell the British that you don’t need to put these obstacles in the way of the dying, just to have safeguards.
The terminally ill criteria is bad enough.
The loss of humanity and compassion seems a manifestly high price to pay in this increasingly ridiculous debate.
A peaceful death is everybody’s right …
