Dame Esther Rantzen has done the country yet another service in raising the issue of assisted dying again (Esther Rantzen ‘considering assisted dying’ if cancer treatment fails, 19 December). As someone who experiences the “intolerable suffering” of a prolonged incurable disease, I believe we should be far less scared of talking about the taboo subject of dying.
I well remember the day when, after a year of tests, the consultant confirmed that I had “a motor neurone disorder”. I knew what that meant, as it was the year that Diane Pretty’s case to allow her husband to help her take her own life, because she had motor neurone disease, was hitting the headlines. I asked the doctor how long he thought I had left. “Everyone’s different. Let’s wait and see.” The prospects seemed bleak. I anticipated one last Christmas with my family.
In the event, my worst fears weren’t realised; my diagnosis was refined to primary lateral sclerosis, a slowly developing form of MND. Twenty-two years later, I’m still alive and able to find hope and fulfilment in my very restricted life. Day to day, I’m totally dependent on my wife and carer from dressing to bedtime. I occasionally have falls, choke when swallowing, and my speech is barely intelligible. However, my quality of life is enhanced by a team of health professionals who are excellent in this area.
Looking ahead, I don’t wish to hasten my death, and I am grateful that, thanks to the law, I couldn’t be tempted to choose an early death on my first frightening diagnosis. As it should, the law provides a vital safeguarding function. So I have real reservations about any proposals that seek to legalise assisted suicide in the future.
Michael Wenham
Wantage, Oxfordshire
• It’s certainly true that there is a danger of abuse with assisted dying, as Katia Lom says (‘When life becomes intolerable, I want out’: Britons’ views on assisted dying. 22 December), as well as putting pressure on already overworked doctors, but there are potential solutions.
One strong contender is to add a new division to the Office of the Public Guardian, which oversees power of attorney. My wife and I have taken out lasting power of attorney in case of future need, to cover both finance and health.
It would not be difficult to devise a similar legal document, to be drawn up in advance, to cover assisted dying: a “lasting power of extinction”. If enacted, it would need the approval of a third party, perhaps delegated by the Office of the Public Guardian, whose job would be to ensure that no pressure was being put on the subject for financial or other reasons.
Charles Harris
London
• Re your letters asking why we can’t allow our loved ones to die with dignity (22 December), this is exactly what the hospice movement provides. My husband died after 11 days in the North London Hospice, following many weeks of acute distress and suffering in hospital (no blame – they did their best). In the hospice, he was turned regularly in bed and kept comfortable at all times and, although he couldn’t eat, as he declined, the amount of morphine administered was gradually increased and he acknowledged us with a squeeze of the hand almost until his peaceful end.
Alison Watson
London
