Analysis: Dying with dignity is not always an option

THE death in Zurich of Sir Edward Downes and his wife, assisted by Dignitas, has again focused attention on the lack of choice in this country for those facing intolerable suffering or terminal illness, writes Libby Wilson.

They were not the first couple to die together in Switzerland, although the only others I know of personally both had terminal cancer.

It appears that Sir Edward was not terminally ill. But he was 85, nearly blind, with increasing deafness and no doubt suffered from other disabling conditions which he would have found intolerable to bear without his wife.

I also know of a Canadian couple, where the husband had a potentially life-threatening illness but whose wife was extremely fit for her age.

The Swiss doctor who worked with Dignitas refused to recommend that they be accepted, saying: "I cannot in conscience write a prescription for a fatal drug for somebody who is perfectly well."

It is a scandal that in this so-called civilised country, a very elderly man and his dying wife have to travel to another country to be able to die together in peace and dignity.

Dignitas has received a lot of bad press recently.

Friends at the End, a pressure group in favour of choices at the end of life, know from personal experience of members being present when the fatal drink has been taken that the staff of the Dignitas organisation are caring and compassionate.

I had a phone call last week from the daughter of a lady who died in Zurich six months ago, telling me that her mother's death had been exactly had she wished – peaceful and dignified. She only wished it had been able to happen in her own home in England.

We know from the meticulous records kept in the Netherlands for over 25 years and the state of Oregon for over ten that less than 2 per cent of those who die choose to avail themselves of medical help. The percentage has remained steady in both. There is no evidence that relaxing the law in assisted suicide opens the floodgates.

Of course, there must be strict control to avoid the exploitation of the vulnerable. Ultimately, it becomes a matter of ethics, what is meant by the "sanctity of life".

Is it right that the moral code of one group should be imposed on others who do not share it?

• Dr Libby Wilson is a former GP and medical adviser to Friends at the End, a campaigning organisation which favours assisted suicide.