Paul Blomfield told that he wants to see a “change in the law that offers people options.”
A Labor member of parliament whose father committed suicide claims that the current regulations on assisted suicide deprived their precious time together and that the law must be changed.
Paul Blomfield stated in a moving interview that he wants to see a “reform in the law that offers people choice.”
Under present law, terminally ill patients cannot receive assistance in committing suicide, and family and friends who assist them or are even aware of their plans can be prosecuted.
Mr. Blomfield stated that prohibiting assisted suicide made life “miserable” for terminally ill patients and their loved ones.
The representative for Sheffield Central spoke about his father Harry, who committed suicide at age 87 after being stricken with incurable lung cancer.
He described receiving a phone call over eight years ago notifying him that Harry had committed suicide.
Mr. Blomfield, 69, stated that had the law been different, they would have been able to explain what was happening with Harry.
He said with tears, “He could have communicated with us, we could have planned together, and he would have likely lived longer.
I believe he decided to leave early because he wanted to perform while he still could.
He had a good life
Mr. Blomfield discussed his father’s childhood in poverty and his subsequent career as an RAF pilot.
“He led a happy and prosperous life,” he said.
“He was a wonderful parent. Even though he was a very private person, I believe he would want me to discuss his passing since he always believed in giving others a choice.
In a sense, that should have indicated what he might do after receiving a terminal prognosis, but I failed to account for it.
The news of Harry’s death was a “shock,” according to Mr. Blomfield because he remained “optimistic” despite the fatal lung cancer diagnosis.
The representative states that the diagnosis itself was “a shock for him and us.”
Currently, the Suicide Act of 1961 imposes a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail for anyone guilty of aiding a suicide.
The law compels individuals to take extreme measures.
Mr. Blomfield stated, “The legislation prohibits people from having a choice towards the end of their lives and compels them to take extreme measures, as my father did.”
He stated that a significant portion of the discussion regarding assisted suicide should focus on what the law “already does” to people and the “misery that it produces.”
One day, he hopes to see a change in the law, and he believes that a “reasonable and balanced approach” would be to permit assisted suicide in cases when a terminal diagnosis with six months to live is confirmed by doctors.
Almost three-quarters of Britons (73%) believe the law should be amended to allow doctors to aid terminally sick patients in committing suicide, according to research conducted by YouGov last year.
However, support for such an action in the legislature has trailed behind public opinion.
A representative for the Ministry of Justice stated, “Our sympathy remains with the families and loved ones touched by these profoundly distressing incidents.”
“Any modification to the law in an area of such sensitivity and importance is for individual MPs to consider rather than a decision for government.”
