Bernard Shepherd: We need legal role in suicide

Mar 19 2010 By Bernard Shepherd

Four years ago Birmingham Law Society canvassed the views of its members on assisted dying.

At the time, a bill which could have seen the introduction of patient-assisted suicide was working its way through parliament.

Although the bill was defeated, the issue has not gone away. Broadcaster Ray Gosling’s recent confession that he smothered his lover in hospital, the championing of the cause by best-selling author Terry Pratchett and Diane Purdy’s very public battle for clarification of the laws on prosecuting those who assist a loved one to die have all helped to return the subject to the headlines.

Most recently, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Keir Starmer, has revised his draft policy on assisted suicide, in the wake of Purdy’s case. For the first time, this now shifts the focus away from the plight of those who die, to the intentions of those who help them.

In 2006, when Birmingham Law Society sought the views of its members on this controversial matter, the proposed bill set out a significant role for lawyers. For an assisted suicide to fall outside the criminal law, a declaration that a patient wished to die, and confirmation that the patient was of ‘sound mind’, was required from a solicitor.

Sixty eight per cent of our members said they would not be prepared to take part in this process.

Despite the controversial role and power being thrust upon our profession, we were not even consulted by the government.

In contrast, according to the DPP, his latest guidelines were on the back of a wide-ranging public consultation exercise, resulting in almost 5,000 responses, including a significant number from lawyers and judges.

The guidelines are described as “interim policy for prosecutors in cases of assisted suicide”. The use of the word “interim” is telling. This debate has certainly not run its course. The fact that lawyers have been called to the table is an important development. Whichever side of the fence you site – anti-euthanasia or pro assisted death – as a profession we need to engage.

* Bernard Shepherd is president of Birmingham Law Society