My Life, My Choice
The Times reports that most Scots would be prepared to help a dying friend to end their life which is admirable and encouraging stance for people to take, if you ask me.
In some cases, more care and support is not the answer and the option of 'dying with dignity' must be an option in a civilised society - for those who wish to end their lives at a time of their own choosing.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/most-scots-would-help-a-dying-friend-to-end-their-life-v9chwq0sx?shareToken=a57338ca54ed1b546ec33c28becfe455
Most Scots would help a dying friend to end their life
By Helen Puttick - The Times
65 per cent of the population would consider accompanying a terminally ill patient to the Dignitas clinic, near Zurich - SEBASTIAN DERUNGS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
A substantial majority of Scots would consider helping a dying patient travel to Switzerland to end their life, a new poll has revealed.
Though it could involve breaking the law, 65 per cent of the population would consider accompanying a terminally ill patient to the Dignitas clinic, near Zurich, where patients can go to take lethal drugs. A majority were also willing to consider helping someone plan and pay for the trip.
The results of the survey were published by the campaign group Dignity in Dying today along with a report exposing the high cash price that people and their loved ones pay for an assisted death at Dignitas.
The average cost, including fees and travel, is £10,000. Families who have turned to the service said that making the arrangements was complicated and described the advice available for health professionals in the UK as inconsistent. Being away from home and the legal implications also had far-reaching consequences.
One person told Dignity in Dying: “I was the deputy chief executive of a national charity. I wrote to my boss and said, ‘You just need to know that I am going to Dignitas with somebody, and it may have legal implications.’ He wrote back and said, ‘I need to think about whether you can go.’”
The campaign group says its findings show that the existing law which prohibits assisted dying in Scotland is “untenable”. “By denying terminally-ill people the option of an assisted death at home, we are not solving the problem, just outsourcing it to Switzerland — and dying people in Scotland and their families are the ones paying the price,” said Ally Thomson, Dignity in Dying’s director for Scotland.
This summer YouGov carried out a poll of 143 people in Scotland on behalf of the campaign group, and across the UK people were interviewed about their experiences with Dignitas.
The survey found 79 per cent of Scots were either strongly supported or tended to support changing the law to allow the terminally-ill an assisted death.
However, Dr Gordon Macdonald of Care Not Killing, the campaign group, said: “The demand for assisted suicide is vanishingly small when people’s physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs are properly met.
“Therefore, rather than changing the law on assisted suicide, we need to ensure that care and support for people who are terminally ill is properly funded.”
