Scots End-of-life Bill could lead to 1,000 deaths a year

Scots End of-life Bill could lead to 1,000 deaths a year. These are really stark projections of people presumably willing to commit suicide per year in Scotland. Palliative care nurses are also warning that if passed, this legislation would bring into Scotland, people willing to end their lives, pretty much in the same way as people travel to Switzerland. Cristina Odone, from the Centre for Policy Studies, has recently published a report starting that this legislation would make elderly and frail people extremely vulnerable to succomb to pressures for assited suicide. If life is considered expendible, because some people cannot contribute on economical and social terms to society, and there is a lgeal way of ending such lives, there might always be the temptation to view suicide as a normal way out. However, this position is not acceptable within a Christian outlook on life, that values everyone's contribution to society and that considers life sacred.

Does the proposed End of Life Bill have real support?

The assisted suicide bill has received the support of a humanist group however as noted in the article published by the Christian Institute in the following link, Scots end-of-life Bill backed by humanists the data presented support the claim that the majority of people in Scotland do not support the end of life bill. "Care not Killing" delivered over 14,000 postcards against the proposed Bill and only in July, Holyrood released data of a poll that showed that the majority of those in the study did not approve the proposed Bill. Allegations of support might be branded back and forth, but, the postcards and the polls are evidence of involvement against the proposed Bill.

Suicide: the taking of one's own life

While no change has occured in the definition of suicide, it would appear that public condemnation of suicide as an act is less than in previous times. Suicide is still recognised by most people as a tragedy but not a sin. This may be related to change in the personal view of life and death and of one's responsibility for life associated with a widespread rejection of Christian views and values. Even prior to 1961, when suicide ceased to be a crime in Enmgland, suicide was not criminal in Scotland. The position of the Church of Scotland on suicide remains clear. It offers compassion and understanding rather than condemnation.

Changes in the Language of Dying: some definitions

The original definition of euthanasia derived from two Greek words, eu thanatos -'dying well' or 'good death'. This concept of an easy or good death is one in which the relief of symptoms is sufficient to allow the patient to continue normal relationships and cognitive thought right to the immediate pre-terminal phase of life, without the intrusion of pain or other distress. This original meaning has changed.

Today, euthanasia means deliberately terminating the life of another person by an act or omission in the context of terminal, painful or distressing illness. Mercy-Killing is also used, defining motivation as much as action. In the context of the euthanasia debate it is interesting that groups seeking the introduction of voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide tend to use language which conceals the lethal nature of the acts proposed. One no longer commits suicide- one performas 'self-deliverance'. A physician under a "right to die" law would no longer gie a lethal injection, he would administer an "aid in dying measure" This quote is an excerpt from na book by Joni Eareckson Tada entitled When it is right to die?

We shall be exploring in the next few post different words and meanings within the end-of-life debate.



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The picture of the floating feather was taken by Lutz-R Frank

Why is Euthanasia such a hot topic?

The national increase in the number and proportion of elderly people in the population in Europe and in the UK is well documented. This is usually contrasted to the decrease of the younger population by a falling birth rate. Families are smaller; people travel and work abroad far more easily now than 20 years ago and our communities lack cohesion precisely because of the increased mobility. All of these factors have reduced the availability of potential carers for older and disabled people, throwing an ever greater load upon voluntary and statutory health-care and supportive services.

Medical advances, life-supporting technology and pharmacological solutions have increased the public’s expectation of life and the expectation of cure to the point that illness and death are less accepted as part of normal human experience. Our bodies are healthier, medical know-how is available to sustain life for longer spans and as a result, our society is living longer. In an ageing population, questions are being asked about our financial capacity to continue care at current or increased levels, and the option of voluntary euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is continuously being presented as an option. These issues are no longer discussed in the privacy of hospital rooms or churches, but under the public glare of the media. The public seems eager to know of the harrowing details of the very personal confrontation with death of individuals afflicted with pain and terminal illness.

In the UK, pressure for the introduction of euthanasia as a legally acceptable treatment is constant and a number of countries in Europe have already legalised assisted suicide options. However, what does this move towards seeing life as disposable, say about our society? Where have our cultural roots been filed in this ethical connundrum?

One of the primary and fundamental principles in the Judeo-Christian ethic is that of the sanctity of human life. This also applies in most other religious systems and it is enshrined in article 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental freedoms, and in article 6 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. “You are precious in my eyes and I love you”. This could be the refrain of a popular love song, but it is not; it comes from the Hebrew Scriptures (Isaiah 43:4) and is one of the foundations to understanding a Christian approach to end-of-life issues.

How can honour and love be at the heart of the euthanasia debate? A Christian understanding of the value of human life derives from the belief that we are made in the image of God and that God loves, honours and respects us. There is something of the sacred within each one of us. Our lives, no matter how frail are not disposable.





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The photograph of the dying rose was taken by Zivash

Hello World

This blog has been created to examine a variety of issues surrounding the end of life debate. The pressure for the introduction of euthanasia as a legally accepted teatment option in the UK and internationally is prevalent. This blog will present current positions surrounding voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide whilest being informed by a perspective that proposes compassion for patients and their carers through the strengthening of palliative care options.