MENTAL INCAPACITY BILL MUST NOT BECOME LAW
By Richard Marsden, editor of Student LifeNet
Euthanasia 'by neglect' could be a reality if pro-life individuals do not oppose the government backed Draft Mental Incapcity Bill this year.
The lives of the elderly and terminally ill people in Britain are at risk from the Bill which would be the first comprehensive law in the world to allow euthanasia by neglect.
The proposed Bill would allow food and fluids, along with other forms of treatment, to be withdrawn with the aim of ending a person's life. Although it was not included in last November's Queen's Speech, thanks to some tireless lobbying from pro-lifers from across the country, it is still being debated by a Parliamentary Joint Committee.
If introduced by parliament, the Mental Incapacity Bill (MIB) would give binding powers to unqualified and unaccountable attorneys to force doctors to kill by withdrawing life sustaining treatment and care.
In other words, you could appoint a person to make decisions about your life if you lose capacity in the future. This means that, once in a situation of mental incapacity, you could not change your mind if you had previously requested to be left to die. One cannot imagine what it would feel like to be starved or dehydrated to death with absolutely no ability to request something to eat or drink. It is impossible to predict in advance what someone will want in a situation not previously experienced.
Advance decisions made to an attorney, requested to a doctor or written in a will would be legally binding. The Bill would prioritise the 'wishes and feelings' of patients, including those who are suicidal, over the clinical best interests of the individual's health. Thus, doctors could be prosecuted for saving a life by refusing to withdraw or withhold food and fluids. The role of the medical profession to care and save the lives of their patients would be made a mockery by the introduction of the MIB.
Although it supports this Bill, the present Government says that it would not legalise euthanasia because the proposals involve withholding and withdrawing 'treatment' rather than initiating lethal treatment. However, it is clear that killing by starvation and dehydration is just as much an intentional killing than giving a lethal injection.
Support for the Bill has come from some very surprising sources. Organisations such as Age Concern, Mind, Scope, Help the Aged and Patient Concern, have all expressed their support for the MIB. It seems that even charities which provide care and support to vulnerable sections of society are supporting a Bill which legalises the killing of the individuals they represent.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) is urging people to write to their MP's to oppose the MIB and make them aware of its 'evil' proposals. It is holding a mass lobby of parliament on 27th and 28th April and is attempting to get as many people as possible to go on either of these two days to see their MP and express their opposition the Bill. Although Student LifeNet is primarily concerned with student-related issues, if you have a personal interest in the MIB write to: SPUC, 5-6 St. Matthew Street, Westminster, SW1P 2JT or visit www.spuc.org.uk
