The Hermeneutic of Continuity

Photo: Daily Mail The Daily Mail the other day reported on the story of James Shepherd and his mother, Elisabeth. At the age of eight, James was knocked over by a car which had mounted the pavement; he was left in a coma from which doctors advised that he had virtually no chance of recovery. He did recover consciousness and some use of speech but has no controlled use of his limbs. Elisabeth Sheppard contacted the Daily Mail in order to provide an alternative to the widespread support for Kay Gilderdale who helped her daughter Lynn, who suffered from ME, to commit suicide. The story of the Sheppards is all the more powerful because of the genuine difficulties and temptations that Mrs Sheppard admits to facing. Her marriage broke up, she was in mental chaos for some time and did herself consider helping her son to die. From these experiences, she draws the conclusion that she was at times an unreliable carer in need of effective support, and that: It's this close involvement in h...

John Smeaton has an important post today: University debate exposed the euthanasia lobby's duplicity . He reports on the debate that was held on Monday evening at University College, London on the motion "That this House would legalise assisted dying." Speaking in favour were Sarah Wootton, head of " Dignity in Dying " (the even more euphemistic new name for the former "Voluntary Euthanasia Society") and Dr Simon Kenwright, a gastroenterologist. Speaking against were Anthony Ozimic of SPUC, and Dr Peter Saunders, Director of the Care Not Killing Alliance . It is worth reading John's post in full to see the way in which the euthanasia advocates will disguise their policies, and the excellent information which Anthony has to hand as a seasoned campaigner on these issues.

Tony Delamoth, the Deputy Editor of the British Medical Journal has asked Assisted dying: what’s disability got to do with it? , saying that "the debate on assisted dying has been hijacked by disabled people who want to live". There are some very good " Rapid Responses " including one from Alison Davis.

Anthony Bennett has organised a petition to the Prime Minister which reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to retain the law that makes it a criminal offence to assist another person to commit suicide. Further details: The law currently makes it a criminal offence to assist another person to commit suicide. There has been a stream of media stories about British people travelling to Dignitas in Switzerland to be killed because they wish to end their lives. These are all very tragic stories. However, it is important to note that in recent years no-one in Britain has been prosecuted for taking their relatives to Switzerland to die, nor in respect of other cases of assisted suicide in the U.K. But to decriminalise assisted suicide would - as many commentators have observed - make many elderly people vulnerable to relatives who may have ulterior motives for wishing them to die early. The law as it is acts as a deterrent to those wishing to assist a relative to die early. Th...

There are interesting reactions from the leading MS charities to yesterday's Law Lords' judgement in the Debbie Purdy case. Although they are non-committal on the morality of assisted suicide, the charities are clearly not happy with the way that MS has been portrayed in the propaganda supporting this case. Pam Macfarlane, Chief Executive of the MS Trust , said, "MS is not a terminal condition and we actively campaign for more specialists to deliver the care that is needed for a condition as variable as MS. There is no question that more investment is needed in specialist palliative care and that support for the person with MS and those close to them must be a priority. However people will decide for themselves." Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society, said: "Debbie Purdy's victory has pushed MS into the spotlight but there is far more to living with MS – even in its more severe forms – than planning how to die. "There are 100,000 people wit...

One accessory I must get for my car is a lead to plug into the radio so that I can play mp3s through it and listen to talks on my way round the M25 and resist the temptation to listen to the news on Radio 4. On the way back from Parkminster after Vespers, this evening's 5 o'clock news was particularly nauseating as it was announced in tones rather like announcing the freeing of the Birmingham Six, that Debbie Purdy has won her appeal to the Law Lords. They found that according to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a person has the right to choose how they die, because that is a part of their private life which must be respected. They have ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions to set out a policy statement which will make it clear to the public under what circumstances anyone will be prosecuted for assisting another person to commit suicide. Since there have been over 115 cases of people committing suicide at the Swiss Dignitas clinic and nobody has yet ...

Pasted from SPUC : URGENT Suicide amendment Monday, contact your MP now Please telephone and/or email your MP and urge him/her to oppose a pro-suicide amendment tabled yesterday by Patricia Hewitt (former health minister) to the Coroners & Justice Bill.  The amendment (which is a new clause in the bill) will be debated on Monday afternoon (23 March) if selected by the Speaker. The amendment's effect would be to make it lawful to help anyone travel to a country where so-called assisted dying is legal so that they can commit suicide. Although this amendment is primarily aimed at those who are disabled or chronically ill, it applies to anyone who may be suicidal - old, young, depressed, in debt, disabled, etc. It will make all those who may be suicidal easy prey to unscrupulous people. Ask MPs to oppose and vote against the amendment. MPs can be contacted by email via  http://www.spuc.org.uk/mps  and/or by telephone through the House of Commons switchboard number 020 7219 3000. Pl...