10 reasons to ask your politicians to vote against Assisted Dying
1. THERE ARE NO SUFFICIENT SAFEGUARDS – Coercion impossible to exclude - Elder Abuse UK rates are 1 in 6 people over age 65 years (mainly financial) – which puts thousands of elderly within this risk category in Jersey
2. WRONGFUL DEATHS – incorrect diagnosis, assessment, and incorrect prognosis
Professor Harvey Schipper: 2,000 – 4,000 wrongful deaths of the 60,000 who received assisted dying (MAiD) in Canada. (Equivalent calculation 4 – 5 people annually in Jersey)
3. FEELING A BURDEN – 50% give this as a reason for Assisted Dying – results in ‘a Right to die’ becoming ‘a Duty to die’
4. THE PRESENT LAW IS PROTECTIVE – the strongest and only safeguard - A new law will put the vulnerable at risk.
5. WITHDRAWAL OF ‘LIFE SUSTAINING TREATMENT’ – is already legal
6. MAJOR DISABILITY ORGANISATIONS OPPOSE IT – ‘None are in favour.’ (NDYUK)
7. A SEISMIC SHIFT IN MEDICAL ETHICS – Resulting in moral dilemmas and tensions between medical staff, serious issues of conscience with ‘effective referral’ required, causing them psychological and mental health problems, and problems of retaining and recruiting staff
8. NORMALISATION OF SUICIDE – non-assisted / violent suicide rates increase (suicide contagion)
9. EXTENSION OF PRACTICE – Stretching of the interpretation of the law far beyond its original intended limitations
10. DOCTORS ARE CALLED TO CARE FOR PATIENTS – NOT TO KILL THEM – do you want a doctor who finds it easier to offer lethal drugs than to work hard to improve your life?
AND THERE ARE MORE…
The Jersey Dying Well Group works closely with Our Duty of Care Jersey