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Or rage, rage against the dying of the light (with thanks to Dylan Thomas)
According to Benjamin Franklin, there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes. Taxes are paid every pay check and most purchases carry tax. Death only occurs once, a once in a lifetime event, you could say. Should we plan for it? Lots of commentators are saying we should. What if it is forced on you by a medical diagnosis of terminal illness, accompanied by extreme pain and discomfort.
The UK government has introduced an Assisted Dying Bill, which recently passed its first reading, so it’s not law yet. This would allow a person, with less than six months to live, to request assistance from a doctor to help them to die. Suicide, by itself, is not illegal in UK law, but assisting someone to commit suicide is. This law will protect physicians from being prosecuted for what would technically be murder.
The bill, legally, only covers assistance from a doctor, and the patient would have to have been diagnosed with less than six months to live. The patient would self administer the fatal medicine. On the face of it, it seems humane and safe. It gives people peace of mind that, should their suffering become intolerable, they have a way out. Whilst financial considerations should not be foremost, it will relieve some pressure on both the health service…
