65 medical professionals in Jersey have penned a letter to ministers begging them to vote against a proposed law that would legalise assisted suicide on the island.
The Jersey States Assembly is set to decide whether or not to allow the dangerous practice of assisted suicide this week after a Citizens’ Jury of 23 islanders recommended that the current law protecting vulnerable people be changed.
In their letter, the doctors said that, should the law be passed, they will not take the lives of their patients under any circumstances.
The law would permit the assisted suicide of any Jersey resident over the age of 18 who is experiencing a terminal illness or “unbearable suffering”.
The letter, addressed to the Health Minister, said: “We are concerned about the most vulnerable members of our society who may feel coerced into a decision they would not make if the law did not permit it.
“It is very hard for clinicians to diagnose unbearable suffering or to predict time to death accurately for many conditions…
“We will not participate should this be passed.”
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “It is vital that we listen to doctors who actually work with dying patients every day in the field of palliative care and who are opposed to assisted suicide, for good reason.
“Rather than seeking to kill patients, Jersey should be supporting and reinforcing palliative care instead of insisting that doctors take the lives of those they are called upon to treat.”
Take action
Please respond to the consultation on the proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adult (Scotland) Bill.
This dangerous practice must not be made legal in any part of the UK.
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