An expert in the field of palliative care has slammed a proposal to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales. Speaking at the ongoing assisted suicide inquiry in Westminster, Dr Matthew Doré said: “It is bonkers… We are against this in healthcare, and certainly in palliative care.”
Dr Matthew Doré, the honorary secretary at the Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) of Great Britain and Ireland, appeared before the assisted suicide inquiry on Tuesday.
“It is bonkers”, said Dr Doré, “that we are talking about having an assisted dying/assisted suicide Bill that would be 100% commissioned and funded by the NHS when we leave the palliative care sector to be funded by the charitable sector. That is the state essentially endorsing death while not funding and paying for palliative care.”
Dr Doré spoke at length about how the legalisation of assisted suicide would undermine palliative care.
“We have spent 50 years trying to remove the misconception that we bump people off – that we kill people in palliative care”, he told the committee. “It does not happen. People are afraid to go into a hospice because of the lingering thought that you go in and you do not come out. That is not true. There is a 50% discharge.”
He also warned that assisted suicide constituted “a public safety concern” since there would be “incorrect deaths”, including people who felt pressure from relatives to die. “Autonomy is relational; it is who you have around you. We know that one in five have hidden elder abuse. We know these numbers.”
Assisted suicide, Dr Doré continued, would suggest to many patients “that there are circumstances in which it is not worth living…
“My question to you is: where does suicide prevention begin and promoting suicide end?”
We must listen to experts in care
Dr Daniel Frampton, SPUC’s Editorial Officer, said: “This is an important time for the UK, as England and Wales (and Scotland separately) consider legalising assisted suicide. It is vital, then, that we listen to the experts, those on the frontline of end-of-life care who work every day in palliative medicine to help patients.
“Dr Doré forwarded the examples of Canada and Oregon where assisted suicide has increased year on year, and where numerous horror stories have emerged; for instance, a woman known as Denise was conditionally approved for assisted suicide in Canada because of “abject poverty”, which meant she could not find suitable accommodation.
“Meanwhile, in Oregon, there was a record number of assisted suicides in 2022, with almost half (46%) of those suicides saying they felt they were a “burden”, as reported by SPUC. 6% cited the “financial implications of treatment” as another reason to die.
“It has also been reported that there were 13,500 assisted suicides in Canada in 2022, a 35% increase compared with 2021.
“Britain must not fall into the same trap of viewing suicide as a solution to the undoubted challenges of end-of-life care, and even disability and poverty. What vulnerable people need, as Dr Doré has articulated well, is appropriate care and true compassion, not pressure to die – a very real and frightening phenomenon that should not be underestimated by the inquiry or, indeed, anyone else.”
Urgent SPUC Petition – Take Action Now
As the UK currently considers the legalisation of assisted suicide, SPUC has launched a petition calling on political leaders to reject the dangerous and unethical practice. It must never be legalised in any part of the UK.
Please sign the petition now.