The Voice

CommentIsLinked@LDV: Anthony Lester – End the legal uncertainty over assisted suicide

By | Mon 6th July 2009 - 6:04 pm

Over at the Indpendent, Lib Dem peer Lord (Antony) Lester argues that citizens are entitled to know if their conduct is criminal. Here’s an excerpt:

The Suicide Act 1961 changed the law so that suicide is no longer a crime, but it remains a crime to encourage or assist suicide, and the current state of the law is not as certain as criminal law should be. Criminal liability depends on the way a particular Director of Public Prosecutions decides what is in the public interest.

Like many others, I believe that we need a legal framework which would allow doctors and nurses to be able lawfully to treat terminally ill patients to relieve their suffering as well as pain, even though it would be a virtual certainty that the treatment would shorten their lives.

Such a framework would need to include really stringent safeguards to respect the patient’s right to life and to personal autonomy against coercion or pressure from health care professionals, family or friends, and to protect the freedom of religion and conscience of doctors and nurses. But that reform is not on the Government’s agenda and will not happen in this Parliament. …

At least 115 people have travelled abroad to die at the Swiss assisted suicide clinic, Dignitas. In this sensitive area, the law should reflect the widespread sense of compassion and humanity and provide legal certainty. It is not sufficient to rely upon the way in which the DPP may decide what is in the public interest in any particular case. Citizens are entitled to know whether their conduct is or is not criminal. That is a fundamental principle of the rule of law.

You can read the article in full HERE.

Read more by or more about or .
This entry was posted in LibLink.
Advert

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Andrew Tampion
    Whatever you think of the pros and cons of "assisted dying", for the record I am against for the reasons Catherine and Chloe give, using the Parliament Act to f...
  • Alex Macfie
    @George Thomas: What would work better is better regulating the design features of social media platforms, so that (for instance) they have to modify algorithms...
  • Margot Wilson
    Yes, indeed, Michael's message is clear: we must remember Jo Cox. I was in a room full of teachers of speakers of other languages the day she was killed and our...
  • George Thomas
    I think the basic idea is that tech companies are now richer and more powerful than many governments while having none of the responsibilities and demonstrating...
  • David Raw
    @ Chloe I'm afraid things go wrong in all sorts of human institutions, Chloe, sometimes by human error, sometimes by wickedness, in both public and private s...