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Law essay on assisted suicide
Law essay on assisted suicide
Ethical principles of assisted suicide
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Mental Capacity Act 2005 Essay
758 Words2 Pages
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Social Attitudes Survey noted that 78% of respondents believe that “the law should require doctors to carry out the instructions of a Living Will” (Park et al, 2007). These decisions become important once patients lose their mental capacity, are unconscious, or unable to communicate” (BMA, 2009). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 defines an “advance decision” as a decision made by a person 18 or over, when he or she has the capacity to do so. The implications of a Living Will, make the case against legalising assisted dying weaker. This is because if a person is legally allowed to set out which treatments they will or will not agree to, and can refuse life sustaining treatments by creating a legal document, then why shouldn’t an individual in extreme pain who is able to make the request at the time be able to ask for assistance in …show more content…
However, the framework in practice is very complex, and has various inconsistencies, such as the legality of refusing treatment, the sovereignty of a living will and the issue of prosecuting those who assist someone to end their lives. There is evidence that shows doctors using palliative sedation as a means to facilitate death in patients that are in extreme pain and the use of limiting or even stopping treatment at the patient’s request is not uncommon. The difficulties of putting the law into practice make it extremely difficult for courts, legislators and doctors to reach clear decisions on individual cases. Therefore, the inconsistencies in the legal framework need to be addressed, as with these present the argument against legalising the right to die is weakened. Legalising assisted dying would simplify the framework and ensure that set barriers and safeguards could be created in order to protect the patient and his/her
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