Summary
Every year thousands of terminally ill patients are being helped to die by their doctors, according to Baroness Molly Meacher, the new chairwoman of Dignity in Dying. She claims doctors are prepared to risk their own freedom rather than see their patients continue to suffer unbearably. Her assertion comes as the British Medical Association next week prepares to discuss the results of its 18 month long survey in to the public and medical professionals' attitudes on end-of-life care and physician-assisted dying. For 26 years now this programme has charted the moral and ethical life of the nation and this subject, above all others, has been the one we've returned to most often. And little wonder as it's an issue that combines moral dilemma, religious principle, human compassion and fear in equal measure. As a prelude to the BMA debate, this week we're going to invite back witnesses who've appeared on our programme over the years to explore how the debate has developed over time. In 1991 we started out discussing the morality of suicide manuals. Advances in medical technology since then have transformed our expectations of what we demand from life. We've seen a growth of the "me generation" that prizes and demands individual choice and rights above collective responsibility. While as a society we have increasingly recognised the rights of disabled people, there is also growing support for legalising assisted suicide, which may give comfort to some, but could put many more vulnerable people at risk. And there has also been our changing relationship with religion. The moral maze that is the debate on assisted dying, live at 8pm Wednesday. Chaired by Michael Buerk with Mona Siddiqui, Anne McElvoy, Giles Fraser and Claire Fox. Witnesses are Dr Michael Irwin, Lesley Close, Dr Kevin Yuill and Prof David Cook.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to a program from BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:03.9 | Good evening. Death may be the only real certainty in life, but the manner of it has changed remarkably over just a few generations, and the moral dilemmas it poses haunt us as never before. |
| 0:13.9 | Where once we died young and suddenly of infection, violence or overwork, we now mostly live on to a lingering death with the degenerative diseases of old age. |
| 0:22.8 | The question of whether the law should allow us to choose to die before nature has run its course becomes ever more pressing. |
| 0:29.5 | A third of the babies born today can expect to live to 100. |
| 0:33.0 | It's in the news again this week. |
| 0:34.5 | The new chairwoman of the pressure group, Dignity and Dying, has claimed that thousands of doctors have been risking jail by illegally helping their terminally |
| 0:41.9 | ill patients to die. Her figures and how she came to them are disputed. The BMA will be debating |
| 0:48.1 | the issue again at their annual meeting next week. It's been firmly opposed to its members helping |
| 0:52.9 | people to die, and surveys suggest most |
| 0:55.5 | doctors still don't like the idea. The general public's attitude is the exact opposite, around |
| 1:00.7 | four out of five when polled, say they think it should be allowed. Elsewhere, it's already legal, |
| 1:06.0 | with varying sets of conditions. In five American states, California became the latest this week and several |
| 1:11.7 | European countries. The arguments on both sides are powerful emotive and often evidenced by |
| 1:16.4 | heart-rending individual cases. The traditional idea of the sanctity of life set against the perceived |
| 1:21.9 | compassion and mercy of ending suffering. The case for personal autonomy runs up against fears that |
| 1:27.1 | the vulnerable, old, confused, disabled, might be pressured into case for personal autonomy runs up against fears that the vulnerable, old, confused, |
| 1:28.9 | disabled, might be pressured into death for personal gain or institutional efficiency. |
| 1:33.8 | In the quarter of a century, the moral maze has been on the air. This is the subject that |
| 1:37.7 | has vexed us most often. We've brought back witnesses tonight who've argued their case with us |
| 1:43.2 | before to see where that argument stands now and where it might lead. |
| 1:47.8 | Death on demand. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.