Hospices warn on assisted dying
Nicola Laver
Hospices in the UK are warning of severe underfunding, leading to fears that if ‘assisted dying’ is legalised, it would lead to more terminally ill patients requesting it.
In July, a Private Member’s bill on assisted dying was introduced in the Lords, and CARE has warned that a ‘right to die’ would become a ‘duty to die’. The bill was introduced by Lord Falconer, who has been campaigning for legalising assisted dying for more than a decade.
politics & policy
Assisted dying: a crunch vote approaches
James Mildred
‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again…’ One politician who has taken this mantra to heart is Lord Falconer.
When I first joined CARE (Christian Action Research and Education), his Private Members’ bill to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with six months or less to live was before the House of Lords. In the end, time ran out and it failed to progress enough to become law.
Beware the ‘optimism bias’ over assisted suicide
If you have ever done a driver’s awareness course (yes, this is autobiographical), there is a section where the instructor will ask you to grade yourself out of ten as a driver. Most people will select 7-9 as their self-assessment. Which is ironic given the course you are doing.
The instructor might then explain that science tells us there are three biases going on. Firstly, there is the optimism bias: we assume we will be fine and will never be involved in a serious prang or crash. Secondly, the what-about bias: we look back on times where we’ve overtaken on a bend and because it all worked out, we assume it will be fine again. Finally, there is the skill enhancement bias: we think we’re better drivers than we are.