I remember being on a family picnic when I was about six years old, and coming across a wild rabbit. I was immediately enchanted by this remarkably tame - and, of course, utterly adorable - creature and could not understand why my parents shouted at me not to stroke it. Naturally, I was inconsolable after watching them examine it briefly and my father walloping it over the head with a spade.

It was explained to me that they had seen that the poor thing was riddled with myxomatosis (my mother worked in a vet surgery and recognised the disease straight away), and so it was kinder to give it a fast, painless death instead of allowing it to die slowly and in agony. What had seemed like wanton cruelty was in fact an act of mercy towards a vulnerable creature that could not end its own suffering for itself.

That memory has always stuck with me, in an important-life-lesson-learnt sort of way rather than an emotionally-scarring-story-to-tell-my-psychoanalyst way, of course. It is one of the reasons I have always been strongly in favour of euthanasia*, and why I welcome the new clarifications of the law on assisted suicide, even if I don't think they go far enough.


My hero, Terry Pratchett, puts his reasons for supporting the legalisation of euthanasia far more eloquently than I ever could (and with a lisp and everything), so I'll keep it brief. No one with an ounce of compassion would allow an animal to suffer unnecessarily if they had the power to stop it. We consider it humane to put our pets out of their misery when their quality of life becomes unbearable; how, then, can it not be 'humane' to do the same for a fellow human being if they request it?


One argument usually dragged out by opponents of euthanasia is that of practicality: that people will be pressurised into agreeing to assisted suicide, or that we cannot be sure that they will not change their mind at the last minute. Clearly, the risk of this is minimal given the stringent checks and examinations that would be implemented were euthanasia to be legalised. Nobody is proposing a Vegas-style drive-thru euthanasia clinic with a quick lethal dose given by some dude in an Elvis costume and a cheesy photo for the folks back home.

Furthermore, the status quo is extremely flawed as it is, in terms of practicality. Given that partners and family members who help their loved one travel to Switzerland risk prosecution for assisted suicide even if they are not directly involved in the process, many people end up having to travel alone to the clinic, meaning that they die before their quality of life has become sufficiently low to truly warrant suicide. Opponents of euthanasia decry the fact that it ends life before its natural time, while not realising the irony that it is actually the criminalisation of euthanasia that cuts lives even shorter.

Another argument against is that of morality: life is sacred and we ought not to interfere with God's precious gift. Well, yes, in an ideal world, that would be the case but the government does not appear to have noticed that this is not an ideal world and most of the worst legal decisions that they make come from the misguided belief that we can make it into one. Strive for perfection, by all means, but at some point you have to cut your losses and just work with what you've got.

I have written at great length before on why I believe prostitution ought to be legalised so I won't go into that now, but the same principle applies: ideals are all very well, but it is often better to have a more realistic system that improves the situation in practice even if moral compromises have to be made. I do not approve of suicide, just as I do not approve of the selling of sex, but I accept that it will always happen and would rather make it as safe, dignified and humane as possible than cling to a stubborn ideal which only makes matters worse.

If there is a God, let Him judge our souls - not politicians.




* And in the case of certain people who insist on inflicting their droning about 'um-ba-rellas' on the world, as soon as possible. It's a mercy killing, all right - merciful to the rest of humanity.