ASSISTED suicide is once again in the spotlight as the Health and Sport Committee takes oral evidence ahead of a parliamentary debate ("Fears that doctors may get a taste for killing", The Herald, February 4).
We are senior clinicians with, between us, tens of thousands of patient-years experience in the care of people with advanced and incurable illnesses. We wish to explain why we are opposed to this legislation.
We recognise the suffering and distress which accompany serious illness, particularly when symptoms are difficult to control. Every day we encounter patients and family members made vulnerable and frightened by such circumstances. Yet the demand for assisted suicide is tiny.
Legalisation of assisted suicide would expose our patients to internal or external pressures to consider that option, creating a dilemma which would compound their distress and prejudice their treatment and its outcome. Whereas proponents of assisted suicide portray the prospects for these patients as otherwise bleak, agonising and undignified, the facts are that palliative care in our country is world leading. Our patients, and their families, consistently tell us that good care made all the difference and we know that the overwhelming majority will experience a peaceful and comfortable end to life.
The diagnostic criteria for assisted suicide in this bill are so indeterminate that eligibility could apply to many conditions amenable to medical care. Legalising assisted suicide would accommodate the demands of a few. However it would be a far more productive to alleviate suffering of many by affirming our world-leading quality of palliative care and bringing the wider availability of that care up to the level of excellence already provided for cancer patients.
Dr Stephen Hutchison MB BCh BAO MD FRCP (Glasg); Dr Deans Buchanan MB ChB, BSc (Hons) FRCP MD; Dr David Gray MB ChB FRCP (Glasg); Dr Rosie Conway BSc MB ChB DPM FRCP (Edin); Dr Kirsty Boyd MB ChB FRCP; Dr Jo Bowden MB ChB MRCP MClinEd; Dr Fiona Downs MB ChB BSc (Hons); Dr J Martin Leiper, MB ChB, FRCP; Dr Catriona SK Ross MB ChB FRCP (Edin); Dr Sarah Miller MB ChB PRCP (Pall Med) UK; Dr Claire Douglas BSc MB ChB MRCP; Dr Ruth Isherwood MRCS MRCGP MSc; Dr Susan Jackson MRCGP; Dr Barry Laird MB ChB MD MRCGP; Dr Chris Sugden MB ChB FRCA FRCPEdin,
c/o 2 Aultnaskiach, Inverness .
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article