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This from a reader known to OnTheWight who wishes they name and address to be withheld. Ed
Broadly speaking, when we went to the Polls earlier this year we were aware of what we were voting for. The Parties all published Manifestos, so we kind of knew what we could expect from the winning Party and the winning candidate.
We could argue about the details, but it is the case that the electorate went in with their eyes wide open.
No mention of Assisted Dying in manifestos
Except that our new MPs (both inexperienced first timers), are now going to have a vote in Assisted Dying, something which didn’t appear in any manifesto and I don’t recall any mention of it in husting events, interviews or letters. Its’ not exactly that Assisted Dying was even a major dinner party/pub/water cooler topic of discussion, yet it’s being fast tracked through.
The public, in no meaningful sense, have been able to contribute to this debate and we are going to have zero influence over our MPs’ votes. None. Messers Robertson and Quigley will have carte Blanche in this.
My personal experience
For what it’s worth I will share my experiences (or near experiences) on this topic, but secure in the knowledge that it won’t make one jot of difference.
Some years ago someone close to me was terribly ill with cancer. For anyone claiming that they could cope with the pain, you are wrong. You will not. That person asked me to arrange a fatal dose for them.
Impossible decision-making
For those people who think that they would be able to make that decision with ease and confidence you are wrong. You cannot. I decided to do my best and put my faith in the doctors. For those who think that the medical profession know best. You are wrong.
The surgeon told me that he wanted to starve them to death (this was in a Tuesday and they’d be dead by Sunday he said). I pleaded and asked if their was anything that could be done.
Stoicism disappears
If anyone thinks they can be stoic and keep ones dignity you are wrong. You cannot. After intervention from above (not from heaven, but from a senior bureaucrat) I was able to arrange an emergency operation for the Saturday for what would have been a day before their effective execution date.
If anyone thinks that medical staff and bureaucrats in the health sector act with compassion you are wrong. I was told it was £25,000, to which I agreed. That’s the cost of a life. The surgery went ahead and they survived. The surgery had uncovered an infected swab left behind and turned gangrenous. My sister died two weeks later.
Haunted on a daily basis
Do I regret each and every decision I took? Yes. Am I haunted on a daily basis? Pretty much. If Assisted Dying had been available my sister could have escaped another two weeks of agony, but if the surgery had taken place sooner she could have survived, or maybe died as a result of something else.
If the medical staff in which we put our trust had done their job with diligence she could have been alive. But, these are all ‘what ifs’ and ‘buts’, over which we have no control. To legalise (speed up) the dying process could lead to improper decisions and poorer medical standards.
Maybe my sister is in Heaven chasing Elvis around a cloud. Maybe not. Maybe I chose correctly. Maybe not.
Do not rush the decision
My point is this: a vote on this Assisted Dying is nothing to be rushed, and certainly nothing to be decided upon by newbie MPs — neither of whom had my vote.
Neither one of them, I believe, could have lived those days in my shoes and now one of them gets to speak for me in potentially bringing forward and Act which could alleviate suffering or unnecessarily shorten a precious life.
Decades of consultation and debate are required to be able to make a legally binding decision on Assisted Dying in my view.
