Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon Parliament to reject proposals to legalise assisted suicide, calling the plans fundamentally flawed.
Writing in the Guardian, Brown said he respects the views of those who say the terminally ill should be free to choose to end their own lives. However, he questioned whether this legislation would really give a meaningful choice.
Brown centred on the issue of inadequate palliative care, pointing out that the terminally ill could well be faced with a supposed 'choice' of assisted suicide or inadequate palliative care. The proposed legislation would only serve to weight the choice towards suicide.
This may result in a scenario where applying to commit suicide would become a relatively simple process while trying to get care if an individual wanted to choose life could become a bureaucratic nightmare, if possible at all.
By passing this legislation, the government would be shouldered with the obligation to terminate the lives of citizens who request it, but no corresponding obligation to take care of them in their final days.
Brown said it has "become clear that whatever views people hold on the principle, passing the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill into law would privilege the legal right to assisted dying without guaranteeing anything approaching an equivalent right to high-quality palliative care for those close to death”.
The former prime minister concluded by reminding MPs of their duty, not just to their own conscience, but to the wellbeing of the British people.
“I also understand that MPs will be advised by many that the sum of their responsibilities is the avoidance of unnecessary harm. But irrespective of whether you see life as a gift, and notwithstanding any religious convictions or the lack of them, an MP’s personal preferences cannot be separated off from the duties they have as members of a community to ensure that the way we treat the dying reflects the values of a decent, compassionate country," he said.
