A healthcare expert has warned that vulnerable people could be coerced into assisted suicide by families seeking quick insurance payouts.
Professor Bill Noble, former president of the Association for Palliative Medicine (APM), has warned that legalising assisted suicide in the UK will undoubtedly mean that “some patients would die before their time”, especially for the sake of insurance payouts.
“My concern stems from my experience of a few families requesting, manipulating or misrepresenting my patients’ wish to die or be killed by medical intervention”, he continued.
“If the policy does not include terminal illness insurance and it is shortly coming to an end, it might well be a motive both for coercion and for the patient to choose assisted dying, particularly if the family understood the true nature of predictions of survival.”
The Zurich Insurance Group has said that it will “sympathetically” consider life insurance claims following assisted suicide. The Royal London Group says it would also pay out, having already “received and supported claims that have featured assisted dying”.
A 2021 poll commissioned by Age Scotland found that 36% of over-50s Scots believe they are seen as a “burden” by others, and 51% felt undervalued.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill will be voted on by Parliament next month. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he will vote against the proposed law because of concerns about coercion and the poor state of the NHS.
A Belgian health insurance boss recently championed assisted suicide as a means to save taxpayer money and free up hospital beds: “When it comes to budgets, it only costs the government money.”
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “There is no assisted suicide safeguard that can protect vulnerable people from coercion and other dangers inherent in such laws. The only measure politicians can reasonably take is not to legalise it in the first place.
“Assisted suicide is a disaster waiting to happen, and it potentially threatens us all. MPs must reject the Leadbeater Bill for the sake of every citizen.”
TAKE ACTION: Lobby your MP NOW
SPUC is urging supporters and all people opposed to assisted suicide to lobby their MP now, asking them to oppose Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill. We must make sure our voice is heard.
A tool is available on SPUC’s website to help you do this. Enter your postcode to find out who your MP is, write your message, and press send.
SPUC is hosting free online webinars to help supporters understand the details of the proposed legislation and how to effectively voice concerns regarding this.
Each webinar will be no more than 45 minutes in length. During this time, our aim is to empower you with valuable information to lobby your MP effectively and keep the vulnerable safe from assisted suicide. You can register for the webinar here.
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