Guest Blogger: Revd David Boyd writes,

One aspect of the assisted dying debate is that such measures will always leave some people who fall outside the guidelines pleading for the guidelines to be widened to allow them to be included.

In a parallel situation, the guideline for abortion in Victoria for many years until recently, the 1969 Menhennit ruling that abortion was allowed in situations where the physical or mental heath of the mother were in danger, got widened out to, in effect, abortion on demand. That is, the gateposts which were there to restrict access to abortion were knocked over and anyone who wanted to got through. Laws and guidelines do get widened out in practice and by pleading for exceptions.

Thus, immediately after the new consultation paper in voluntary assisted dying was introduced in Tasmania, the situation of Elizabeth Godfrey a decade ago was discussed at length on ABC television and other media. She was a Christian who believed that the resources expended on her pain should go to others more needy. She did not have a terminal illness, but was in unbearable and unrelievable physical pain, and committed suicide in 2002. Her two sons (one of whom was convicted and received a suspended sentence for assisting her suicide) called for the proposed guidelines to be widened to allow the assisted suicide of anyone – not just those with a terminal illness – experiencing unbearable and unrelievable pain.

Then, of course, the next step would be to ask for it for those experiencing unbearable and unrelievable mental / emotional / psychological pain (ie, suicidal depression). And that can be anyone of any age. And the widening would continue, with pleading for other exceptions, because if autonomy is to be one of our supreme guiding values, then of course everyone can do whatever they like to themselves.

Unlike some people of faith, I am careful about calling lots of things slippery slopes, but I believe this one really is a slippery slope, and this has been demonstrated in other places where assisted dying has become legal.

I believe this one really is a slippery slope, and this has been demonstrated in other places where assisted dying has become legal.