Euthanasia Series on Channel 4

Alaistair Thompson has alerted us of a series on euthanasia which will be shown on Channel 4. All of the video clips are available in the following website.

There is also the possibility of posting comments on the wesbite. We thought it might be an interesting resource for everyone to look into.
This is the way Alaistair let us know about the series:
We would like your feedback on a series of films about euthanasia showing on Channel 4 next week.

4thought.tv encourages constructive debates about religious and ethical issues in our society. Each week we look at a different theme, and next week we are exploring attitudes towards euthanasia, and asking whether it should be legalised in Britain. We have tried our hardest to fairly represent both sides of the debate, and show both people who believe assisted suicides should be legalised to limit the suffering of terminal illnesses, and people who don't for religious and potential misuse reasons. The 90 second films will be airing after the news every evening on Channel 4 (around 7:55pm). Viewers can then share their own thoughts and feelings about euthanasia, respond to individual films and reply to other viewer comments on our website www.4thought.tv


This is obviously a contentious and extremely emotional issue. In order to generate meaningful dialogue on the website, which may be of use to individuals and support groups, it would be a fantastic help if you could ask your members, colleagues and friends to watch the films and respond online afterwards. We are interested in all thoughts related to the films, whether you agree with the speaker or strongly oppose what they say, and hope people will share also share personal views and and experiences. We always encourage people to be open and honest when commenting, and you can remain anonymous if you wish.

This is an outline of the speakers views and transmission times.


Monday 17th January, 7:55pm – Lesley Close
Lesley Close’s brother John had Motor Neurone Disease. In 2003 Lesley accompanied him to a suicide clinic in Switzerland where she witnessed his “dignified and amazing” death.

Monday 17th January, 7:58pm – Sarah Meagher
Christian Sarah Meagher’s husband died of cancer four years ago. Sarah believes that only God has the right to take a life and neither she nor her husband would have wanted his death to be hastened in any way.

Tuesday 18th January, 7:55pm – Martin Amis
Author Martin Amis believes that euthanasia is an evolutionary inevitability. Martin recently caused controversy by putting forward the idea of suicide booths on street corners and thinks that future generations will look back at how we have abandoned people to their longevity as “barbaric”.


Wednesday 19th January, 7:55pm – Michael Wenham
Christian Michael Wenham was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease nine years ago. He believes his life is now richer than it was before his illness and that euthanasia is a selfish act that fails to take account of the feelings of those who are left behind.


Thursday 20th January, 7:55pm – Dr Michael Irwin
Dr Michael Irwin believes that it is a doctor’s duty to ease a patient’s suffering and wants to see a change in the law that would allow doctor-assisted suicide for those who are terminally ill. He has personally accompanied patients to the Dignitas suicide clinic in Switzerland to help them end their lives.

Friday 21st January, 7:25pm – (anti euthanasia doctor)
Saturday 22nd January, 6:55pm – Dr Ann McPherson
Dr Ann McPherson has terminal cancer. She will almost certainly die within the next six to twelve months. Ann hopes that, when the time comes, she will be able to have the option of an assisted death in Britain.

Sunday 23rd January, 7:55pm –Kevin Fitzpatrick
Kevin Fitzpatrick believes that legalising euthanasia in Britain would be a terrible mistake and that many more disabled people would die as a result. Kevin believes that we should put our energies into improving palliative care services rather than trying to make it easier for people to hasten their deaths.

All of the films are available to watch online immediately after they broadcast, and for the next 6 months, here www.4thought.tv/euthanasia

Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

John Wyatt has recently written a very good article on euthanasia and assisted suicied in the Cambridge Papers: towards a Biblical Mind collection. The paper argues that the arguments in favour of assisted suicide are no longer centred on unbearable suffering or pain. Instead proposers of assisted suicide and euthanasia, are stressing now the important of choice and control over the time and manner of death. This is coupled says Wyatt with "fears about the sociala dn economic consequences of increasing numbers of elderly and dependent individuals". Read the full abstract and access to the paper following this link.

Care not Killing Alliance

Dr Peter Saunders, Director of Care Not Killing Alliance will be speaking on current moves to introduce assisted suicide and euthanasia into UK law,and how Care Not Killing is mobilizing support to oppose these moves. The venue is Renfield St Stephens Church Centre (Kirk Lounge)
260 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4JP
Thursday, 5th November, 2009
8-9.30pm

The Demand for Euthanasia for Children

There is no demand from parents for intentional killing and the matter is raised more by ethicists and theoreticians than by anyone in the practical field. The majority of paediatricians are against intentional killing and medically assisted suicide, but there is a small group who would support its introduction.

One report indicates that children have been supplied with a lethal injection and have been encouraged to administer this to themselves 'when all eslse has failed'. In such a situation, you wonder whether compassion and care had indeed failed the child!

Unconscious Children
These are usually sufferers from trauma, head injury, and brain lesions of various kinds. The most freqeunt problem encountered is head injury related to traffic accidents. They have often been dealt withi in adult intensive care units until recently, when paediatric units have been opened. The criteria for brainstorm death are the same as in adults. Similar debates occur over brainstem death in children as in adult cases. 'Switch-off' decisions are generally made on the same grounds of negative expectation of recovery, but practice varies.

The parents have the veto and often wish to continue life support initially, but may reach a point of acceptance of the futility of this after an opportunity to come to terms with the realities of the situation. Improved resucitation techniques have really introduced these problems, since many would have died without these being applied.

Where the life support requires to be switched off, this is usually done with the parents present, one of them helding the child in the period after the switch off.

The normal expectation is that death will occur. However the expectation of death may not always be fulfilled, and a brain damaged child requiring a major level of support remains. In one incident following which the child was fosteres in a loving home with excellent care, major guilt still produces problems for the parents. The case for euthanasia in such cases would rest more upon the suffering of the parents rather than that of the child.

Additional readings
Some of these readings might be useful
Shepperdson, B. (1983). Abortion and Euthanasia of Down's Syndrome Children. the Parents view.

Journal of medical Ethics

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Engelhardt, T (1989). Ethical Issues in Aiding the Death of Young Children.An excerpt is available here.

Macdonald WL (1998)> Situational factors an attitudes towards voluntary euthanasia. The abstract is available here.





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Euthanasia in Childhood and Infancy

In the practice of paediatric medicine there are two main areas in which eithanasia may be relevant-paediatric terminal illness and neonatal intensive care.

Paediatric terminal illness: the concious child.
Most conscious children requiring terminal care are cancer patients, but some have meningitis or other progressive conditions. Palliative care for these has recently received new emphasis, as expansion in the filed with specialised hospice provision for children has occurred. By contrast in Holland, where the euthanasia concept is widely accepted, there is no such specialist provision. Euthanasia is overtly perceived as the solution to these problems.

The emotional aspects of caring for a dying child are difficult for parents and for staff to handle, irrespective of the symptoms of the condition. Carers must consider the autonomy of children, as well as considering them as people who do have a right and a need to know what is happening to them in terms which they can understand. A child, like an adult has the right to have wishes, feelings and preferences and to express them.

It is responsible and necessary to give factual information to a child as much as to an adult, and experience has shown that children may handle the terminal care situation better than many adults. Family involvement, which includes siblings in decisions results in easier relationships and management of difficult situations. counselling of a whole family is often necessary and involvement of other children in family grief has a healing effect. Long family silence about a dead child is found to be common, but it may have a destructive effect.

Adequate symptom relief, sometimes self-administered and controlled by the child (who can become very skilled at it) and support for the family through the time of trauma, result in the elimination of the need for intentional killing.

The following websites have relevant information about this topic.
Terminal illness
Child Trust Fund
Facing Bereavement

Credits
The picture of the sick child was taken by Shainlee

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