‘It is about people having that choice of how they want to die’
By Ruth Dowds
FORMER Alliance councillor Gavin Walker is pushing to open the debate on assisted dying so that the province can make its own choices about one of the hottest and most contentious legal and moral issues of recent years.
Whilst English campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen has raised the profile of the debate on the mainland and the Isle of Man Parliament discussed the issue earlier this week, Mr Walker says it ‘has not been discussed here at all’.
He believes that the matter now needs to be addressed in Northern Ireland in light of the potential introduction of Assisted Dying legislation in the Republic of Ireland.
If introduced, the current Bill would give those with terminal and neurological conditions, who have months to live, the right to take control of how and when they die.
This raises some serious issues for people living in Northern Ireland, says Mr Walker, as anyone who takes a friend or relative to an assisted death in the Republic could be arrested coming back over the border and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Mr Walker adds: “So there are some issues that could become very real for Northern Ireland and we need to at least have a discussion about what we think might be right for us.
“If we don’t make a decision for ourselves somebody else is going to make it for us and that has happened too often in the past.
“So, my interest in the campaign is really that I think it is something that should be available to everybody as a matter of course and there is nobody else really taking that on.”
As a devolved issue, any Assisted Dying legislation would need to be passed by the NI Assembly and Mr Walker believes there are some MLAs who would support it if they were confident they had the backing of voters.
In order to kickstart a debate that would give voice to opinions here Mr Walker has joined the UK wide group, My Decision My Death, which was launched at Easter time.
He explains: “We are now getting the campaign together and one of the first things we want to do is have an opinion poll in Northern Ireland and get a sense of exactly where the public stand on this particular issue.
“We believe 75% or more of Northern Irish residents would be quite keen to have this available, but there are obviously going to be questions to be answered, such as what is the criteria and who should be allowed to have it?
“There is a lot to talk about, but people shouldn’t be scared to talk about it because it’s going to happen anyway.
“There is a bill in Scotland, there’s one in the Isle of Man and there’s one in Jersey and Keir Starmer said he would bring it to Westminster, so it’s happening around us.”
He adds that the establishment of a Citizens’ Assembly was recognised as part of the New Decade New Approach agreement and he believes this would be the perfect arena for the debate.
“Whatever the answer they might come up with I’d be happy with that, I just want the conversation to start and for people to have the debate.
“They could come up with something that would then allow the politicians to move forward, I think, and present something that would be popularly accepted,” says Mr Walker.
He believes the issue will be supported by those who have been touched by it.
“If you talk to somebody who has watched a relative get as much palliative care as they can but still die in pain, or with a very great loss of dignity, they are not going to say no to this,” he says.
“The churches obviously have some serious concerns around it and that’s absolutely legitimate. But this is not something that would be required, it is something that would be a choice.
“So, it is about people having that choice of how they want to die. Consider, what is dignity to you? To some people it is ensuring they don’t die in pain and to others it’s making sure they don’t have to be carried to the bathroom.
“There are things that have to be discussed and we have to decide as a society what we would be happy with as far as the criteria are concerned.
“The concept of coercion is certainly real and needs to be handled but it’s maybe not as big a thing as people think.
“In every country where Assisted Dying is in place around the world, in order to be able to take advantage of the service, you have to be reviewed by two medical doctors and a psychiatrist, so there’s a lot to it.
“In most countries there is a provision that it is only people who have a terminal illness that can take the first step.
“I do understand there are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed and you can be sure there would be as much protection as possible.
“I have a son-in-law who is currently training to be a Church of England minister, so it makes for interesting conversations.
“He is someone who respects other people’s decisions so he would respect my decision, though he wouldn’t necessarily agree with it.”
Though Mr Walker has no personal experiences of traumatic bereavement to have shaped his convictions, he nonetheless has a strong belief that people should have a choice about their death.
On reflection, he concludes, “I would have a big concern about not dying under my own terms, so maybe that’s part of it.”
