A leading brain surgeon diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer has said an inquiry into assisted dying is ‘absolutely essential’.
Henry Marsh, 71, said he was ‘filled with dread’ at the thought of dying slowly when he was told he had prostate cancer six months ago.
The typical mortality rate for people in stages three and four of the disease is between one and five years.
The retired neurosurgeon has now supported a call by dozens of politicians for the government to hold an inquiry into assisted dying.
A petition by Humanists UK demanding assisted dying legislation be looked at again has been signed by more than 50 MPs and peers.
Leading brain surgeon Henry Marsh, 71, who diagnosed with an advanced stage of prostate cancer, has said an inquiry into assisted dying is ‘absolutely essential’
The retired neurosurgeon has now supported a call by dozens of politicians for the government to hold an inquiry into assisted dying
The strongly worded letter to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland says that the UK has fallen behind the rest of the world on assisted dying laws, and that Parliament ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ to the issue any longer.
Currently, assisting a suicide is a crime in England and Wales and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
Campaigners say that assisted dying is different to suicide because it is purely for people suffering from terminal conditions such as cancer.
Speaking about his own cancer diagnosis, Mr Marsh told the BBC he was ‘deeply shocked and terribly frightened and upset’ as it ‘gradually dawned on him how serious the situation was’.
Mr Marsh, who is also a best-selling author, is due to start radiotherapy treatment in a few months’ time.
The strongly worded letter to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland says Parliament ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ to the issue any longer and that the UK has fallen behind the rest of the world
Currently, assisting a suicide is a crime in England and Wales and is punishable by up to 14 years in jail. Pictured: Justice Secretary Robert Buckland
‘Having spent a lifetime operating on people with cancer, the prospect of dying slowly from it myself fills me with dread,’ he said.
‘Despite the best efforts of palliative medicine, I know that dying from cancer can still be a very horrible business – for both patient and family, despite what the opponents of assisted dying claim.
‘I fiercely believe that if people in my situation knew they had the ability to choose how, when, and where they would die, it would greatly reduce their suffering. Knowing that I had this choice, if life became unbearable, would certainly give me much greater confidence now in facing whatever the future might hold for me.
‘But as the law stands, I am not allowed this comfort, and the law insists instead that I must suffer. Many politicians have shown a striking lack of compassion by ducking this issue for too long, and are inadvertently guilty of great cruelty.’
Mr Marsh added that he believed opponents to an inquiry into assisted dying ‘fear’ that the evidence is so strong ‘that their hypothetical arguments against it don’t hold water’.
‘Irrespective of your view on assisted dying, I would hope everyone could agree that our laws should be based on evidence and informed decisions, not alarmist, unfounded opposition that flies in the face of all the evidence from countries where assisted dying has been legalised.
‘It’s time for all MPs to start taking this issue seriously and I urgently call upon them to undertake an inquiry into the law.’
Parliament last voted on assisted dying when Rob Marris MP’s private member’s bill for the terminally ill made it to the Commons in 2015, but it was rejected by 330 to 118.
Humanists UK’s Chief Executive Andrew Copson said he was ‘deeply sorry’ to hear of Mr Marsh’s diagnosis and praised his ‘brave work’ on assisted dying reforms.
‘The ability to choose how, where, and when we die is a fundamental freedom, which cuts across party political and ideological lines.
‘In coming together to demand an inquiry, Henry and the lawmakers who have signed this letter have put the voices of the terminally ill and incurably suffering at the centre of the debate.
‘We urge the Justice Secretary not to shy away from the difficult questions posed by assisted dying, and to launch an inquiry or call on Parliament to do so, to ensure these voices are given the fair hearing they deserve.’
The Care Not Killing alliance, which opposes assisted dying, has said the current law protects vulnerable elderly people ‘from being pressured into ending their lives’.
The group chief executive Dr Gordon Macdonald said: ‘Our current laws protect the most vulnerable in our society, the elderly, the sick and disabled from feeling pressured into ending their lives, exactly as we see in the handful of places around the world that allow assisted suicide or euthanasia.
‘At a time when we have seen how fragile our NHS is, how underfunding puts pressure on services, and when up to one in four Brits who would benefit from palliative care, but does not currently receive it, to be pushing this ideological policy, seems out of touch, dangerous and desperate.’
