Letters | If well regulated, assisted dying would ease unnecessary suffering

Readers discuss the move in Europe to legalise assisted dying, support for diversity in the Hong Kong Football Club, and the security arrangements for a transfer service for passengers on private jets

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Pro-assisted dying campaigners gather outside the UK Houses of Parliament as MPs prepare to debate over changing the law on assisted dying, in London on April 29. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:30am, 11 May 2024

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Legislation to support and regulate assisted dying are set to come into effect in some European countries. For example, in France, the government has introduced a bill on assisted dying that will be debated in parliament at the end of this month. In Britain, similar bills have been moving forward in the Isle of Man and Scottish parliaments.

I believe assisted dying is an essential element of an individual’s core freedoms. We have the freedom to choose where we live, who to marry and we should be given the freedom to choose the manner and timing of our death.

Assisted dying would alleviate unnecessary suffering, indignity and fear. Terminally ill patients often suffer enormously for a long time before dying. In countries such as Canada and the Netherlands where assisted dying is legal, the number of people seeking such assistance is increasing, making up about 4 per cent of deaths in Canada and 5 per cent in the Netherlands. This shows a keen desire among people for this freedom.

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority recognises patients’ advance medical directives in which patients can indicate the healthcare they would like to have in the future, such as not performing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) when their heart stops. However, before such directives are executed, patients may go through unimaginable suffering.

Critics argue that assisted dying could be abused by families looking to claim inheritance or cut healthcare costs. To prevent such abuses, the government should regulate assisted dying and do its best to provide social support and palliative care. It should set the bar high enough to avoid abuses. For example, France’s assisted-dying bill is limited to the terminally ill and the patient must be mentally competent to make such a decision.