Op-Ed: Assisted dying laws do not always protect the vulnerable

October 29, 2008

End-of-life decisions made by doctors are not the same as ending-life decisions, says Ilora Finlay.

Simon Jenkins’s article on assisted dying contains so many misconceptions that it is difficult to know where to begin in refuting them (Denial of the right to die is sheer religious primitivism, October 22).

First, it is nonsense that “one third of all registered deaths are caused by morphine overdose”. Those of us who practise end-of-life medicine know the evidence that morphine, used correctly, is a very effective drug which can actually extend life by controlling pain and breathlessness and avoiding the exhaustion of unrelieved symptoms. Prescribing morphine properly is humane, compassionate and safe – it does not kill. Just because there is a last dose of a drug – or a last cup of tea – does not mean that either killed the patient dying of advanced disease. (Guardian)