The pro-euthanasia lobby often makes use of the slogan “Death with dignity” to campaign for the individual’s right to decide when and how to end their life. I find such appeals misleading and disingenuous. A so-called sanitised end to human life should not be the basis for reform - neither should death as an expedient.
The pro-euthanasia supporters do not have the monopoly on dignity and yet they would have us believe that only the option of voluntary euthanasia – should it be needed – will allow a terminally ill patient to die with dignity.
I would argue that it is not the manner of a death that affords dignity to a patient but rather it is the people – family and healthcare workers – who have an obligation to ensure that a person – regardless of whatever state they are in – is always seen as fully human and treated with the utmost dignity. This is where the issue of death and the manner of dying concerns all of us. We all have our part to play. It is not the mark of a civilised society to sharpen up the blurred edges of death. It is, however, a society’s – or better, a community’s - ability to confront such situations with love, compassion and an unstinting determination without ever to losing sight of the individual amid the thick fog of pain, suffering and the apparent meaningless of their final hours which defines and marks us out as a civilised society.
Perhaps the increasing interest in the debate about euthanasia is more to do with the current state of our society rather than an issue of personal autonomy. Some might argue that with an increase in secularism, the influence of scientific reductionism and a decline in religious faith this is inevitable.
D J Kearney, Dorset
Having finished 45 years as a hospital physician only last year, I recognise the problems that give rise to the view that doctors are too focused on treatments to keep people alive longer, even when the "final days" have been reached. However, this can be unfair in many circumstances. We are often treating patients with various organ failures; heart failure, respiratory failure, renal failure, for example. These are terminal conditions which people can survive for months/years. They may be very disabled by serious symptoms of breathlesness & weakness, but they want to keep going and expect us to try. Even terminal patients with cancers, for which cures are constantly being researched, often wish to try another regime to gain some time. And, of course, we do not know how long they have to live.
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