Ethics Newsline®

LONDON
A prominent medical ethicist in England says that doctorsshould be allowed to end lives of terminally ill patients legally, quickly, andhumanely, as well as without their consent if the patients are incompetent.

Len Doyal said that doctor-assisted deaths already weretaking pace regularly in the United Kingdom and need to be better regulated,according to a report from the Edinburgh Times.

Writing in the Royal Society of Medicine journal ClinicalEthics, Doyal claimed that "when doctors withdraw life-sustainingtreatment, such as feeding tubes from severely incompetent patients, it shouldmorally be recognized for what it is — euthanasia where death is foreseen withcertainty," according to the Guardian.

"Doctors may not want to admit this and couch theirdecision in terms such as ‘alleviating suffering’ but withdrawal oflife-sustaining treatment from severely incompetent patients is morallyequivalent to active euthanasia," Doyal wrote.

Doyal, who is a professor emeritus and taught medical ethicsat the University of London, criticized current pro-euthanasia legislation nowbefore Parliament, according to the Times of London, saying it does notgo far enough. The proposed legislation, called the Assisted Dying Bill, wouldallow doctors only to prescribe life-ending medication for patents who requestit.

Doyal claimed that supporters of euthanasia have remainedsilent about non-voluntary euthanasia, claiming that it will weaken politicalsupport for any measure allowing doctors to intervene in end-of-life decisions,according to the Times.

Some pro-euthanasia groups have publicly disavowed Doyal’sviews on involuntary euthanasia, saying that patients should express theirdesires in living wills, the BBC reported.