Published date: 05 Jan 2012 at 5:17PM
A (External) report launched today from the (External) Commission on Assisted Dying has labelled the current law on assisted dying 'inadequate' and stated that MPs should consider changing it to allow some terminally ill people to end their lives at home.
Under proposals set out in the report, people living with an incurable, but not terminal, condition like MS would not be able to ask for help to die - unless they were judged to have less than a year to live.
Debbie Purdy, who has MS, has spoken frequently in the national media on this issue after leading a successful campaign to seek (External) clarification on the law around assisted dying.
Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society, said: "The MS Society neither supports nor is opposed to assisted suicide - we take an impartial stance and support an individual's right to choose. However, we believe the right care and support can make a huge difference to a person's life. There's a big difference between someone wanting to end their life having explored, and received, every care option, and someone giving up hope because they have nothing available to them.
"In the UK, palliative care is a long way from where it should be; high-quality person-centred palliative care should be made available to everyone living with a debilitating condition like MS, rather than being confined to the last stages of life, and people should be supported by health professionals to speak confidently about the subject."
High-quality person-centred palliative care should be made available to everyone living with a debilitating condition like MS, rather than being confined to the last stages of life. Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society
Multiple Sclerosis Society. Registered charity nos 1139257 / SC041990. Registered as a limited company in England and Wales 07451571
(External)
image: Fundraising Standards Board