As the UK parliament moves closer to the momentous vote on assisted suicide on 29th November, it is worth taking stock of the arguments. The arguments in favour of the bill fall on each of the grounds of principle, practice and because of the inadequacies of the bill – and you do not have to be Catholic to accept the arguments against.
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With the announcement of a new debate in parliament on ‘assisted dying’ in the coming weeks, many people are anticipating the end of what they term a ‘cruel law’ that prevents medical practitioners from giving patients lethal drugs so that patients can end their own life. As Esther Rantzen has said, ‘all I’m asking for is that we be given the dignity of choice.’ Those like Dame Esther in favour of a change in law argue that evidence from other legislatures shows that with proper safeguards there is no abuse, no coercion, no slippery slope. As the advocate of several attempts to change the law, Lord Falconer has said, 300 million people around the world already have access to ‘safe, tried and tested assisted dying’.
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One of the areas of work of F. A. Hayek was the evolution and use of language. He noted that Confucius was reported to have said: “when words lose their meaning, people will lose their liberty.” And Hayek described the profound impact on culture and politics of the ability of intellectuals to use old words and give them new meanings. Sometimes, and misleadingly, those meanings were the opposite of their classical definitions. Unfortunately, we can see this phenomenon today when it comes to life issues.
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There is a wide variation in practice in relation to whether business enterprises respect the natural environment and human dignity as well as the rights of local communities. Best practice in environmental sustainability and the protection of the rights and dignity of local people can only be achieved if both governments and companies fulfil their proper functions and behave ethically. A typical situation here might be a mining or other industrial company choosing to operate in a poorer country.
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The reality is that the second national security law has severed connections between people in Hong Kong and the outside world.
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Esther Rantzen is one of a number of well-known and well-regarded celebrities who have publicly declared their support for a change in the law on assisted dying. When a celebrity makes a pronouncement, many people stop and take notice even if the celebrity is not making any new arguments. Celebrity is persuasive. Esther Rantzen says that she appreciates all the arguments against assisted dying. Nevertheless, she thinks that people should be given a choice about how and when they want to die. In particular, she wants to spare her family from the painful memories of a bad death. She observes that, after all, we give dogs a painless death. Given the current prohibition on assisted dying under English law she has decided that if her treatment for stage four lung cancer does not improve her condition she may just ‘buzz off to Zurich.’
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Indi Gregory was not simply another tragic case of a very poorly infant nor the latest case of another contentious end-of-life court case, though her case was the latest in a line of cases where courts sided with doctors against the wishes of parents. Indi was a beloved child, and everyone involved in her care wanted the best for her. The problem was they disagreed on what was best. Unfortunately, it is likely that there will be similar cases in the future which is why it is fruitful to reflect on attitudes and principles underlying decision making in these heart-breaking cases.
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In the first part I wrote about the situation of families that do have children. However, have you thought recently about how old the population looks when you go out onto the street? This is not just because people are living longer. Where are the prams, pushchairs and babies? Pope Francis has talked about how we are moving towards a “demographic winter”.
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A devoted Catholic and British citizen finds himself on trial under China’s sweeping national security law in Hong Kong, all for standing up for the promises made by the UK.
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In the majority of cases patients and their families trust their doctors. However, there is a growing number of high-profile cases hitting the media where patients, and especially the parents of very young and very poorly infants, simply do not agree with their doctors. Significantly, these cases are where the life of the patient is at stake and doctors believe that it is better to withdraw or withhold treatment and allow the patient to die ‘with dignity’.
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