Lord Mohamed Sheikh was born in Kenya and brought up in Uganda. His parents originated from the sub-continent of India. Mohamed was elevated to the House of Lords in 2006. He is an active Peer and speaks regularly in the House of Lords on a variety of subjects....He recently spoke in the house of Lords regarding the Assisted dying bill....Here is the excerpt What do you think?? Is this against the spirit of the Hippocratic oath and is about ending life of terminally ill??? My Lords, not only am I opposed to the Bill but I am completely opposed to the principle of assisted suicide. The Bill would completely change the state’s role in people’s lives, the role of doctors in care and the way in which we look at the ill and the sick. The duty of a doctor is one of care and protection of life. A doctor is trained to do that. What is more, we would be asking doctors to make a life-or-death decision regarding matters on which they could not be completely sure. First, it is impossible for a doctor to know for certain how long a person will live. This has been proven many times. Secondly, the Bill makes no legal framework for psychological assessment or coercion. There may be pressure from people who have a financial agenda. The right to die can easily become a duty to die. The law should not affirm that some lives are not worth living. A vulnerable person may start to think that they would be better off dead, but those tempted to think about that need protection and care, not the right to die. No life is less worth living than another. Life is sacred. This Bill is talking about ending the lives of the terminally ill, but we cannot pretend that this will end here. If you concede this for the terminally ill, you make it more difficult to argue the case against it for others, such as those who are disabled or are non-terminally ill. I suspect that those in favour of this Bill are well aware of this fact. This is about setting a precedent.Most medical associations and colleges are against legalising assisted suicide. I would like to add that it would be against the spirit of the Hippocratic oath.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 01:50:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015