Date: Sunday 28th April 2024

Release time: Embargoed until 00.01 Monday 29th April 2024

Westminster Hall Debate on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia a "missed opportunity" says Care Not Killing

Speaking ahead of Monday's Westminster Hall Debate on assisted suicide and euthanasia, Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing described it as a missed opportunity to talk about fixing the UK's palliative and social care system. He commented:

"Changing the law would put pressure on the elderly, vulnerable and disabled people into ending their lives prematurely. This is what we see in the US State of Oregon, which has an assisted suicide system and where a majority of those ending their lives in 2023 cited the fear of being a burden on their families, carers or finances as a reason. While in Canada, which has a euthanasia system, 1,700 of those whose lives were ended cited loneliness as a reason in 2022. We have also seen the deeply troubling cases of Paralympians, army veterans and disabled people being offered 'an assisted death' rather than the support they need to live.

"Then there is the myth of the 'Hollywood death'. Studies show those who ingest death row drugs as used in Oregon, far from having a quick and painless death, slowly drown in their own secretions and die of what doctors call a pulmonary oedema.

"And this is before we get to the worrying data from the US and Europe that shows legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide, far from reducing the number of suicides seems to be associated with an increase in the numbers of people taking their own lives in the general population, perhaps because it normalises the idea and practice of suicide."

Dr Macdonald concluded:

"At a time when we have seen how fragile our health care system is, how the hospice movement has a £100 million black hole in its budget, and when up to one in four Brits who would benefit from palliative care but aren't currently receiving it, holding yet another debate on whether or not the state should kill a small number of people compared to caring for the hundreds of thousands of people who are terminally or have chronic and degenerative conditions is a missed opportunity. Instead of discussing this dangerous and ideological policy, we should be talking about how to fix the UK's broken and patchy palliative care system so everyone can have a dignified death - a view shared by the Health and Social Care Committee."

ENDS

Editors Notes

Care Not Killing is a UK-based alliance bringing together human rights and disability rights organisations, health care and palliative care groups, faith-based organisations groups, and thousands of concerned individuals.

We have three key aims:

• to promote more and better palliative care;
• to ensure that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed;
• to inform public opinion further against any weakening of the law.

*As this story is dealing with suicide, please could we ask that you include details about organisations that offer help and support to vulnerable people who might be feeling suicidal such as the Samaritans, CALM or similar - Thank you.*