Opinion: When it comes to assisted dying, I want the option

Heaven And Hell, as you ask. The post-Sabbath Black Sabbath fronted by Ronnie James Dio again that couldn’t be called Black Sabbath because Black Sabbath were back with their original singer so they named themselves after the first album they recorded after sacking the original singer at the end of the 1970s and hiring Mr Dio.

Got all that? Excellent, on we go…

Our Keyboard Worrier feels he wants the option of assisted dying to be available (Image: Newsquest) Followers of the news might be aware of a bill that is heading to Parliament this week, to be discussed and debated in a calm, rational manner as the facts are laid out and then assessed in a cold, rational manner.

Ha, who am I kidding? Three hours of hectoring, barracking and abusing looms when the Assisted Dying Bill hits the chamber - as those against – and it does seem to be those against – jump up and down while clutching their pearls (a good trick if you can do it), aghast at the idea that a human might be allowed to legally and safely make the ultimate decision for themselves.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to write about this. I had something far more fun planned, but you’ll just have to wait for that now.

Sorry.

From what I’ve read, the law will allow for terminally ill adults who have less than six months to live to be eligible for assisted dying. They’ll have to have the mental capacity to make that decision, must express it clearly, be free from pressure, and have been under their GP for at least a year.

And then there will be a whole lot more hoops to jump through before anything gets signed off.

Those in favour, and you’ll be shocked to know I’m in that number, will tell you that this is the mark of an advanced, humane, civilised society who would like people to have the right to choose not to suffer if that’s what they want to do.

Those against, however, will tell you this is cruel, barbaric, against the will of their particular god, and they will have no truck with people queueing up to end it all every Tuesday.

Now, I get it. This is a sensitive, emotive, subject. There are valid concerns on both sides, but this is where we REALLY need calm, rational debate.

Remember Brexit? Remember how that’s exactly what didn’t happen? Let’s not do that again.

We’re grown-ups. We should be able to see the other’s point of view without shouting.

Not that the Justice Secretary is going to listen to me.

A “slippery slope to death on demand” awaits, according to Shabana Mahmood. And you can’t trust the people in charge, she warns. Yes, she is one of those people. Make of that what you will.

In a letter to constituents she writes: “Faced with expensive or insufficient care, some may feel they have become too great a burden to their family, friends and society at large. In doing so, they would not be choosing death because that is what they want for themselves but because they think that others might want it for them.”

I'm glad I'm not one of her elderly relatives...

Then there’s the investigation into Danny Kruger, son of a TV baker and MP for a bit of Wiltshire, who might have links to Christian lobby groups pumping money into the ‘no’ lobby.

I find it odd that people who believe in God are trying to stop you meeting 'Him', but there you go. It’s not like anyone can whistleblow afterwards, is it?

My own views, as I know yours will be, are very personal.

I found Terry's book extremely moving (Image: Newsquest) First, I read about author Terry Pratchett’s final years. A staunch believer in the right to choose, reading what he went through as his brain stopped being able to do what it did so well had me in tears. He didn’t want that. His family didn’t want that for him. He wanted to have the option.

Then there’s me. Chances are I wouldn’t even qualify, but as someone with a life-limiting condition, who has lost friends to that very condition, I don’t want my final years to be me having to be cared for by others.

Having lived with multiple sclerosis for almost 30 years, I know my future is not rosy. Parts of me already don’t work properly, and they’re not getting better no matter what certain former ministers might claim.

My future is pretty bleak. Swallowing will go at some stage, as the muscles needed stop receiving signals. Talking will go. Typing will be a distant memory (I know, such a loss…). And the thought of that terrifies me.

The thought that a kind, humane, society has made a difficult but compassionate decision is the thinnest of silver linings on a very dark cloud.

You wouldn’t leave your cat to suffer for years, you’d make the difficult decision for the good of the animal.

Why would you not do the same for someone you love?