HPAD

As members of caring professions we do not think some terminally ill should be forced to travel abroad to die

We campaign for a change in the law and call for the support of our professional bodies. We support Dignity in Dying in their campaign for greater patient choice at the end of life.

ASSISTED DYING IS NOT VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA

The Assisted Dying Bill Would:

Provide safeguarded choice and control to terminally ill adults and prevent prolonged suffering among these dying adults who want to have choice over how and when they die. Ensure that terminally ill adults who have assistance to die do so having met clear pre-determined criteria and have explored all their alternatives; rather than as at present, in secret, when checks are only made after someone dies (as set out in the prosecuting policy on assisted suicide).

The Assisted Dying Bill Would Not:

Legalise assisted suicide for people who are not dying (for example disabled people or older people). Legalise voluntary euthanasia where a doctor administers the life-ending medication. Under the Assisted Dying Bill the person choosing an assistance to die would self-administer the prescribed life-ending medication. Legalise a system where the person being directly helped to die is no longer competent to make that choice for themselves. This Assisted Dying Bill would only apply to adults with mental capacity both at the time of their request and at the time of their death.

GOOD NEWS
Canada has become the first commonwealth country to legalise assisted dying Now over 35 Million Canadians (and 50 million Americans) have access to the choice of assisted dying in their own country compared to zero Britons. Canadian lawmakers have succeeded where our MPs failed-they demonstrated the political leadership needed to legislate on assisted dying.

On his 85th birthday,Archbishop Desmond Tutu has re-affirmed his support for assisted dying by revealing that he himself would like that choice. Archbishop Tutu has fought throughout his life for people to have their fundamental rights respected and his support for assisted dying is very powerful

February 2018
Social amd medical attitudes are changing and the influential BMJ in an editorial calls calls on the BMA to poll its members which so far it has declined to do thus excluding itself from constructive debate. Better still,we need a large national and independant opinion poll perhaps commissioned jointly by the BMA,the royal colleges, and the GMC It cannot be right that doctors should be so out of step with the public :polls in the UK which suggest more than 80% now support assisted dying

March 2019
Good news on two fronts . The Royal College of Physicians in a poll this month have voted to adopt a neutral position on assisted dying which means they join the Royal College of Nursing in dropping their long standing opposition. The other rather unexpected but welcome change of mind came from Vince Cable who has now declared himself in favour of a change in the law

This photo was taken in the fifties. Home visiting by the GP was the norm then, as was out of hours cover.