Kids Count at the Conservative Party Conference

Assisted dying

When at the Conservative Party Conference 2014, we went to a fringe meeting that discussed the law on assisted dying. Although this wasn't related to the topics Kids Count were raising at the conferences, we thought it would be an interesting topic to hear a discussion on.

The charity that held the meeting was called “Dignity in Dying” and the chief executive, Sarah Wooton featured on the panel. She was also the chief executive of a similar charity “Compassion in Dying”, which helped family members of the terminally ill to cope with their struggles and the victims of the disease to find their legal options.

“Dignity in Dying” believes in the legalisation of assisted dying, but not, as Sir Richard Ottoway, another panelist, reminded, assisted suicide, as is legal in Switzerland. The panel did not imply in any way that they were forcing their views upon the audience of the discussion. Sarah Wooton believes that people should have the choice of how they would like to die, as 84 per cent of people have a strong opinion on how they would like to die, whereas only 4 per cent actually achieve this.

She told us about how many MPs are reluctant to discuss the issue as it is sensitive and there are many controversial and mainly religious beliefs that make the subject awkward. She stated that in the American States of Oregon and Washington, where assisted dying is legal, very few people use the services available, however the majority of people are comforted that they have an option of assisted dying and said that the taboo subject will be discussed as politicians cannot dismiss the strong views of so many.

Another panelist, Preth Rao, discussed how 80 per cent of people wish to die in the comfort of their own home, but only 50 per cent do. She stated how the majority of people, 78 per cent, support the legalisation of the law which allows people to die without pain and 53 per cent want to be surrounded by their family and loved ones when they do die.

Many questions were also raised by audience members. One asked about the flexibility of the law and the panel replied by telling them that the law will not be abided strictly, and they do not know whether or not assisted dying should be available to those under the age of 18.

Another asked about the people who assisted dying would be offered to, the panel told them that assisted dying is not for those with only a bad quality of life, but the law that they want to pass is towards giving the terminally ill with less than six months to live an opportunity to die with dignity. There was also a discussion as to where the assisted dying would be done, as many people who work in a hospital decide on that profession to cure people, and assisted dying is not that.

This linked on to another question which asked the panel why they want to work in ensuring a comfortable death, when they could work in prolonging life and curing diseases. This brought me to think that if there was a cure found to a terrible disease, like cancer, would we be having this problem?

All in all, my first fringe meeting was very interesting and enjoyable. It was not only a great experience to sit in a room filled with different opinions, but to be able to discuss your own opinions and see other people’s perspectives on different issues was brilliant. I would recommend anyone and everyone to go to a fringe meeting as it was a valuable way to spend my time and not only have my interests grown, but my knowledge on the topic has also expanded.

Eve is blogging on behalf of Kids Count, a think-tank focused on the practical rather than the theoretical. Find out more at www.kidscount.org.uk