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Assisted Dying

I am sorry but I will not give way. We have limited time. The majority of doctors are opposed to physician-assisted suicide, as is the British Medical Association and all the royal medical colleges. In 2005, the House of Lords Select Committee recorded the view of the General Medical Council:"““A change in the law to allow””—" physician-assisted suicide—"““would have profound consequences for the role and responsibilities of doctors and their relationships with patients. Acting with the primary intention to hasten a patient’s death would be difficult to reconcile with the medical ethical principles of beneficence and non-maleficence.””" I agree. In the words of Lord Carlile of Berriew,"““The slippery slope is no fiction; it is already well-polished.””" There are few of us who are not afraid of death, especially the uncertainty that is associated with it. We are all anxious not to become a burden on others and none of us would wish to suffer pain over a prolonged period. That is what organisations like Dignity in Dying—I still prefer to call it the Voluntary Euthanasia Society—play on. The alternative is to ensure that people have dignity in dying and that their physical, spiritual and emotional requirements are met. I welcome the introduction by the Government of the recent end-of-life care strategy, which has many good things in it. Hopefully, dignity in dying will become much more prevalent when that strategy is practised across the country in future. I do not want physician-assisted suicide to become a treatment option. I remind hon. Members what Hippocrates said in 400 BC:"““I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel.””" How a society treats its dying patients is a litmus test for that society.