Commenting on the report released by the Commission on Assisted Dying, Phil Friend from the Not Dead Yet campaign group said:
‘The commission’s findings are both disappointing and unsurprising. There isn’t a route to ‘safely’ offer a choice of assisted dying to people, whatever the criteria is.
‘How do we know whether people have been influenced by others? How sure are we that people are likely to die in 12 months? Who are these ‘independent’ doctors and how independent are they? Diagnosis and prognosis often change over time, as do people’s desires to live or die.
‘And we need to be realistic about the context. Many disabled people can’t get the basic support that they need to live independently as spending cuts bite. Uncertainty and fear are the order of the day for many of us. It’s made worse when there are noises about changing the law to make euthanasia possible.
‘The commission is right to emphasise the importance of good quality health and social care, and improved end of life care. We should be focussing on getting those services right, rather than concentrating on changing the law in a way which creates more danger and pressures for people in vulnerable situations’.