Doctor-assisted suicide

Written by David Fletcher 23 Feb 2018
Doctor-assisted suicide

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) recently called for doctor-assisted dying to be legalised, ‘to reflect public support’. They said assisted suicide works well in other countries. However, there are increasing reports of involuntary euthanasia in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, and euthanasia is being extended to minor and non-life-threatening conditions. Consequently the elderly and vulnerable are now fearful of going into hospital. In the UK, doctors are said to be 2:1 against the legalisation of assisted suicide. However a poll on the BMJ website asking whether doctor-assisted dying should be legalised claimed that 59% voted Yes and 41% No. It is possible that this figure was manipulated to produce the desired result; some responders voting No were told their vote was not accepted due to a technical hitch. Activists are calling for doctor-assisted dying to become legal for those with six months to live, even though it is difficult to predict life expectancy.

Additional Info

  • Pray: for palliative care to be strengthened, and for doctors never to be forced to take life. (Psalm 86:11b)