Talk - The Pros and Cons of Assisted Dying

Before talking to Stuart Dew (who is the speaker tonight at Christ Church) I had assumed that ‘assisted dying’ was much the same as ‘euthanasia’, only more emotively expressed. The first would be substituted for the other, I had supposed, by those who deemed euthanasia too euphemistic for their particular moral stance. These thorny subjects usually do get reduced to such sensitivities of language (hence the power of ‘pro-choice’ and ‘pro-life’ to upset both sides of the debate). But when I put this to Dew, I get a somewhat different response. “‘Assisted dying’ is not the same as ‘voluntary euthanasia’”, he tells me. “The first refers to the specific practice of a doctor prescribing painkillers to a terminally ill patient - the administering of which could induce death. Euthanasia is where the patient requests a doctor’s assistance in their own death.” Intention seems to be key then, I remember, from the depths of my A-Level ethics knowledge: “Isn’t that how a Christian negotiates the sanctity of life - where death is a by-product of the relief of pain?” I ask. “Well, yes. Although some Christians - usually Catholic - would say that life should be prolonged whatever because of the possibility of God intervening with a miracle. Others would agree that the age and condition of the patient should be taken into account, so that medical intervention should stop at a realistic point beyond keeping a patient comfortable and pain-free.” ‘Assisted dying’ is the next ethical step, and a bill debated in Lords has recently brought the issue closer to a legal reality. Dew hopes to introduce the topic and hand over for discussion. Somehow, I don’t think there’ll be a shortage of it. ER