4:20pm Wednesday 17th March 2010
MAKING it legal to help the terminally sick to commit suicide should be allowed, a packed meeting in Winchester decided.
Around 150 people went to the debate, which was led by a panel of experts and chaired by broadcaster Debbie Thrower.
Once the vote was taken, calls to change the law were backed by a majority of more than two to one.
It comes after several cases on the national stage where relatives faced jail for helping seriously ill loved ones to take their own lives.
Romsey MP Sandra Gidley led the case for change at the debate, labelling end of life care in Britain as “inconsistent” and even “haphazard”.
She said: “This is not about euthanasia and somebody else making decisions for me. This is about me being in control.”
She added that several other countries had already changed their laws, and Britain would probably follow “when” rather than “if”.
She said: “Future generations will look back in disbelief at the way we imposed our views on people who are dying.”
Professor Paul Badham, patron of Dignity in Dying, backed her argument. He added that many people wanted the right to choose how and when they died if they had a terminal illness.
“What people want is a reassurance that if their suffering becomes unbearable then there is something there for them,” he said.
Dr Tony Callard who leads the British Medical Association Ethics committee led calls to maintain the law.
He said: “The person who would be assisting the suicide would be deliberately and knowingly taking an action that will prematurely end the life of another. Simply, I call that killing.”
He added: “I didn’t go into medicine to kill people. I went into medicine to try and make people better.”
The Rev George Pitcher, Daily Telegraph religion editor, supported his views.
He said: “The moment we let in death as a clinical treatment option, we’re eroding our human nature to cherish and nurture people when they need it most.”
After the debate the audience voted by 66 per cent to 28 per cent in favour of legalisation, with six per cent abstaining.
The event was held at the University of Winchester’s Stripe Theatre on Monday, March 8.
It was organised by the Winchester and the Districts Soroptomists to coincide with International Women’s Day.
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