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Behind The Headlines: Debbie Purdy Gets Her Life Back!
Online clip: MS Woman Wins Right-To-Die Fight (30 July 2009)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8177343.stm
Summary of the case: In 1995, Purdy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis which has lead to her being stuck in a wheelchair since 2001 and with each day, losing control of her upper body. She has made her mind up about committing suicide with the help of Dignitas, a company which has worldwide reputation in this area. There are a few problems however; she is worried that her husband Omar Puente will be prosecuted under the 1961 Suicide Act and face up to 14 years of imprisonment due to “aiding a suicide” when returning to the UK after the process has taken place. She also wants to live on until she’s “ready to go” but if her husband is to be prosecuted then she will have to travel alone in the near future while she still has the strength to do so. The video clip from 30th July 2009 reports on the decision taken by the House of Lords to change and/or clarify the law which will clear up some confusion and help people make their own choices while knowing the consequences and Purdy summed it all up by saying “I’m ecstatic; I’ve got my life back!”.
Discussion of ethical issues: Everybody must have “the right to die in a manner and at a time of their own choosing” says Derek Humphry (2009) and (literally taking the words) who can argue? With the extra stresses of modern times, increasing number of people especially the disabled and the old are losing sleep over living and/or dying in pain (including psychological) and are tempted by the idea of “painless suicide” which some companies in Switzerland and Belgium claim to offer but these people usually require a helper during travel, decision making and the documentation processes, someone to “assist” them. Most countries in the world are against the idea of assisted suicide therefore having laws which tries to prevent it.
The UK is one of the countries which do not allow assisted suicide and this places the ‘people in between’ into a dilemma, there’s the law on one side and the sufferer on the other. In this situation Omar Puente wants to be with his wife in her last moments and help out through the processes; and maybe help her live a bit more and enjoy life but the law puts them into this tight spot of having to make a decision pretty quick before Ms Purdy’s condition worsens. “I want to live until the last possible moment” commented Debbie Purdy in June 2008 adding that moment is when she “can no longer bear being alive”; so the law is forcing people like her to die earlier than they want to. The big problem comes from the fact that even though assisting her can lead Puente to be prosecuted; in contrast none of the relatives of the hundreds of people who are known to have travelled to Switzerland to die have been prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This phenomenon (!) attracted publicity and raised more questions about the law because it is evident that even the police seem to be confused about how to act; thus requiring clarification. This was acknowledged by the House of Lords in July 2009 through Purdy’s persistence.
More ethical questions rise to mind involving future consequences of a law which would make assisted suicide (A.S.) legal. If certain rules are set initially, there are always going to be cases which are exceptional, eventually leading to legalising A.S. completely. This is “a very dangerous step” said Prof. Baroness Finlay (Feb 2010) adding that if A.S. was to be legalised “all sorts of people would be sucked in” implying that even healthy people could be tempted by this. One who’s willing to die could impose this idea on his (her) partner as a test to show her love towards him. A.S. could offer a legal option for people who want their only existing parent to die so that they could inherit their wealth and encouraging A.S. as the only way out. A lot of people will be also encouraged to give up their fight against their diseases much earlier than they would like to (because of cost of treatments etc), with maybe cure being just around the corner. Despite all of this 80% of the public are for the idea (Telegraph report 31st Jan 2010) like Sir Terry Pratchett, who believes that doctors should be able to “help us die peacefully among our loved ones” (Feb 2010)
Coming back to Omar Puente and Debby Purdy’s case, if Mr Puente loved her wife so much then he would have tried to keep her alive as much as possible by making her convinced that he still admires her whatever the outcome and willing to live with her “until the end” and make her feel content with herself. Everyone changes a lot of decisions even within the same day, so the same Mrs Purdy could decide that she doesn’t want to die the next hour; it is all about concerns, belief and current state. It is known that Multiple sclerosis sufferers live as much as “normal” people do thus there is good indication that if she was surrounded by caring, compassionate and helpful people, I am sure that she wouldn’t be trying to take this route.
To conclude, I personally believe that no one has the right to even kill themselves let alone kill (or help) someone else because it is God who gave us this life and it is only Him who has the right to take it back. Life and all the good and bad that comes with it is a test which finishes as quick as a blink of an eye and everyone is given the strength to get through the hard times. Of course no one has to believe what I believe thus should be able to choose to die and be able to request help whenever they want but the public should be taught about the consequences of A.S. so that they take more informed decisions; bearing that in mind, I still believe that people who commit suicide are giving up too easy and the people who assist them can never be able to fully understand what they are causing because we must not forget that there are so many people living today who were thought to have been terminally ill (useless?) in the past, but now are standing tall (not necessarily physically, like Stephen Hawking) and contributing to Mankind thanks to the rapid advancements of technology and science.
Further Reading:
Suicide Act 1961 found online at: www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1961/cukpga_19610060_en_1
References:
BBC “Women loses assisted suicide case” (19th Feb 2009)
BBC “Assisted suicide fight ruling due” (29th Oct 2008)
BBC “MS woman wins right-to-die review” (11th June 2008)
BBC “Assisted Suicide – for and against” (1st Feb 2010)
Daily Telegraph “4 in 5 say do not prosecute” (31st Jan 2010)
Jacob M. Appel “Next: suicide for healthy people” (16th July 2009)
Solomon et al, Biology 6th Ed. 2002, page 20
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