Carr has campaigned against assisted suicide for many years because it threatens society’s most vulnerable people, including the disabled.
In a BBC documentary titled Better Off Dead?, Carr will challenge the pro-assisted suicide narrative advanced by campaigners such as Esther Rantzen. Carr’s documentary looks specifically at the example of Canada, which saw 13,241 such deaths in 2022, accounting for 4.1% of all deaths in the nation that year.
Carr spoke to Canadians for and against assisted suicide, known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), which has killed over 40,000 people since it was introduced in 2016.
“Apart from the fact I don’t have the desire, I think probably I would be under Canadian law”, Carr, who is disabled, told one doctor.
She also spoke to an expert in palliative care who warned that vulnerable patients might feel compelled to choose assisted suicide because they’ve made to feel they are a burden on family and society.
Carr said: “Too many disabled people will have had the experience of someone, often a complete stranger, telling them, ‘If I was like you, I’d rather be dead’…
“This documentary is about challenging the assumptions behind these actions and shining a light on the many grey areas in this often one-sided debate.”
Better Off Dead? will air on BBC One at 9 pm this Tuesday. It will also be available on iPlayer.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “It is vital that the dangers inherent in assisted suicide are exposed for everyone to see, not least because such legislation is being campaigned for and considered in England and Scotland right now. Canada shows just how disastrous such a law would be in the UK.
“We encourage all SPUC supporters and the general public to watch Carr’s documentary and spread the word about the mortal threat that assisted suicide poses to vulnerable people.”
