Much as I sympathise with the aims of the assisted suicide movement, and can understand the appeal of having that option, the following issues continue to bother me about it (and I've yet to receive a convincing response to them, so any comments would be welcome):
- Much is often said of the "right to die with dignity". But does this right actually exist? If so, what of the countless millions who die in traumatic accidents through no fault of their own (or others) and are deprived of a dignified death? Should their families be able to claim a violation of their right to die with dignity? If not, why not? Also, how does one define "dying with dignity" in the first place? The moment you start to suggest something as a "right", the more potential problems it seems to create. Given the realities of how people die in various parts of the world, it seems this "right" is somewhat selective in its application and so I question the merits of describing it as such.
- It's quite commonly acknowledged that serious pain or suffering can seriously impact upon a person's reasoning. False confessions are often obtained from interrogations involving torture owing to the effect of the pain, and likewise the threat of being put into such a position can cause a person's thought process to become irrational. Similarly, if an otherwise healthy person talks about committing suicide, we seek to talk them out of it and in serious cases it is used as evidence of mental health issues. With both of those in mind, why is it then seen as acceptable for a person who is suffering from a debilitating illness to express a wish to die and this not be challenged? Indeed, the Dignitas clinic only introduced assessments a couple of years ago, which suggests up to that point there was limited evaluation of whether this wish was reasonable.
- Given the patient will by definition be in a vulnerable position, and will be more aware of their limitations etc than would normally be the case, can effective safeguards be put in place to prevent people being coerced or compelled to pursue this course of action when they might not necessarily wish it? The issue still arises when people draft their wills, for example, or seek to amend them. Likewise, can we be sure that effective safeguards will exist to prevent doctors taking matters into their own hands, particularly if put under pressure to do so by others?
There are other issues I could raise as well, such as the potential impact on palliative care facilities, but for now I think that's a decent starting point. Suffice it to say, I feel the case for doctor-assisted suicide is (to borrow the Scottish legal term) "not proven".