Press Release

The bill to legalise assisted suicide has finally been published with just over two weeks to go until it is debated in parliament. It aims to introduce ‘safeguards’ in order to protect people from the obvious risks of abuse or coercion with assisting suicide.

One safeguard that Kim Leadbeater’s bill introduces is that all requests for assisted suicide should be referred to a judge for approval.

Dean Gregory, whose daughter Indi died after being refused the freedom to continue hospital treatment overseas, said:

“I know what it is to see my daughter die, with courts deciding that her life isn’t worth living.

“Even now, judges sign orders that enforce death, supposedly ‘in a patient’s best interests’. It’s hard to imagine any judge upholding safeguards by questioning what they are being told by medical professionals, patients or family members.

“I have no confidence that judges would ever rule in favour of life. This apparent safeguard is meaningless.”

Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre have worked on several end-of-life cases where a judge has decided that it is in the ‘best interests’ of the patient to die. This includes cases where the patient and the family are strongly opposed to withdrawing treatment, and where alternative treatment is readily available at no cost to the NHS.

In the case of 8-month-old Indi Gregory, a judge ruled that it was in her best interest to have her life support removed against the wishes of her family and despite the offer of further treatment in Italy at no cost to the NHS.

In the case of 1-year-old Alfie Evans, the family was strongly opposed to ending life-sustaining treatment, and an air ambulance was ready to transport him to an Italian hospital at no cost to the NHS.

Nevertheless, a judge ruled that it was in Alfie’s ‘best interests’ to die.

In the case of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, his parents wanted to give him more time to recover, but a judge ruled that it was in his ‘best interests’ to die, and his life support was removed.

In the case of 34-year-old ‘MSP’ who has not been named in the media, a judge ordered him to be dehydrated to death on the grounds that living with a stoma bag would not be in his ‘best interests’. This was in spite of MSP expressing consent to having the stoma inserted.

In the case of 19-year-old Sudiksha Thirumalesh, a judge ruled that she lacked mental capacity to make decisions about her treatment after she said that she “wanted to die trying to live” rather than have life-sustaining treatment withdrawn from her. The judge ruled this way despite the unanimous view of two psychiatrists who independently examined Sudiksha and concluded that she had full mental capacity.

The Court of Appeal overturned this decision posthumously earlier this year.

Judges, therefore, cannot be trusted to protect life even when the patient has not requested assisted suicide.

When a patient has clearly requested assisted suicide, it is highly unlikely that a judge would seek to prevent the patient from having assisted suicide.

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of Christian Concern said:

“Bitter experience has shown us that judges cannot be trusted to protect life.

“Judges have ruled that it is in the ‘best interests’ of a patient to die, even when the patient has not requested that and the family are opposed.

“It is very hard to imagine a judge refusing permission for assisted suicide when a patient has requested it, given that they have ruled for death when the other patients have not requested it.

“Requiring a judge to approve a request for assisted suicide will not be a meaningful safeguard.

“Busy judges are likely to view this as a tick box exercise which is a mere formality. The circumstances would have to be truly exceptional for a judge not to approve a request for assisted suicide.

“We predict that over 99% of requests for assisted suicide will be approved by a judge.

“MPs voting on this bill later this month should not be fooled into thinking that requiring a judge to sign off on a request for assisted suicide will be a meaningful safeguard.

“We urge MPs to vote against Kim Leadbeater’s bill to legalise assisted suicide. A caring and compassionate society does not assist people to commit suicide.

ENDS

For more information and interviews, please contact:

Andrea Williams: 077125 91164
Paul Huxley: 07793 109887