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Chief judge: It will be hard to change law on assisted suicide
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor11 Sep 2009
The head of the country's new Supreme Court today stoked the debate about assisted suicide by saying he had "enormous sympathy" with ill people who want to end their lives.
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers said that he understood why those suffering "horrible diseases" would want to spare their relatives pain and distress, while at the same time avoiding a "quite hideous termination" of their own life.
But in a blow to those who are campaigning for assisted suicide to become legal, he warned that any change in the law was unlikely to produce any "more satisfactory answer" than existing legislation which outlaws the practice.
The comments by Lord Phillips, who will serve as president of the Supreme Court when it opens next month, come as prosecutors prepare to issue new guidance this month on the circumstances under which those who assist in suicide will face criminal charges.
The publication of the new guidance follows a ruling by the Law Lords this year that the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, must clarify how the law on assisted suicide will be interpreted by prosecutors.
Supporters of reform, including Debbie Purdy, a multiple sclerosis sufferer who wants her husband to be allowed to help her die in a Swiss clinic, want Mr Starmer to give clear approval for such cases amid concern that the existing law is failing to keep pace with the increasing number of Britons who are travelling abroad with relatives or friends to have their lives ended.
Today Lord Phillips admitted that he sympathised with such people but suggested that a better legal framework would be difficult to create.
"I have enormous sympathy with anyone who finds themselves facing a quite hideous termination of their life as a result of one of these horrible diseases, in deciding they would prefer to end their life more swiftly and avoid that [prolonged] death as well as avoiding the pain and distress that might cause their relatives," he said.
Critics fear that any change in the law could lead to pressure on the sick from unscrupulous relatives to end their lives, while others are opposed on religious or other moral grounds.
Another problem in altering the existing legislation could be determining the precise medical circumstances under which assisted suicide could be permitted, because not all those who currently want to end their lives are suffering from terminal conditions.
Lord Phillips added: "Different people have very strongly held beliefs which are in conflict; I don't believe it's possible to say one view is right and the other wrong. It's a very difficult area for the law to deal with."
Among the opponents of altering the law on assisted suicide is Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who said last week that he would not support such a move.
Under the existing law, no one has so far been prosecuted for assisting a suicide carried out abroad, although some people have been charged for helping others die in this country.
The Director of Public Prosecutions' new guidance is unlikely to significantly alter the position and is expected merely to spell out exactly how the existing law is applied, rather than creating a different legal framework.
Mr Starmer argues that any change in the law is a matter for Parliament and that prosecutors' duty is simply to apply whatever legislation is in place.
Reader views (1)
Yes, it probably is difficult, but that is not a good reason to shy away from the issue. The government is perfectly capable of coming up with idiotic legislation so let us ask the noble judges to draft a proposal for a law which permits those of sound mind but unsound bodies to take the decision for themselves and save everybody unnecessary misery at the end of their lives. We are criticised, rightly, if we let an animal suffer so why is it so hard to treat humans decently?
- Colin Macpherson, Gramat France, 11/09/2009 14:22
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