Thoughts on assisted dying: ethical, practical and moral perspectives

The assisted dying bill has brought to the fore debates about euthanasia, quality of life in people with incurable diseases and the nature of end-of-life care. Community nurses know more about this subject than most healthcare professionals. They have witnessed many good deaths, but also deaths that were distressing for the patient and loved ones. They must have their own views on assisted dying and, as with most debates, this one is nuanced and by no means clear-cut.

Proponents of assisted dying draw attention to difficult and harrowing deaths they have witnessed or heard about, where the patient is distressed physically, emotionally or spiritually—sometimes all three. In discussions of euthanasia, arguments abound about beloved pets who were put out of their misery before they died a slow, painful and undignified death and parallels are drawn with human end-of-life care. Community nurses are acutely aware of the types of disease and prognoses that lead to the sort of death that none of us would choose. Assisted dying in these circumstances is perhaps easier to understand, and for many, straightforward.