Loneliness and depression make people opt for assisted suicide, expert warns

Mental illness and loneliness are two of the biggest motivators behind requests for assisted suicide and euthanasia in other countries, raising questions about the ethics of the practices, an expert has said.

Bernadette Flood, a pharmacist and expert in ageing and intellectual disabilities, critiqued calls for assisted suicide in Ireland and Great Britain in a letter to the British Medical Journal. She wrote:

"It's paradoxical, but in the world of social networks we are increasingly more alone. It's an epidemic in Western society, and if loneliness is combined with the pain of an incurable disease and advanced age, the trauma can become very difficult. Most people seeking assisted suicide and euthanasia suffer from depression or other mental illnesses, physical illness, or simply loneliness."

A recent report on Canadian Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) legislation showed that almost 1 in 5 people who opted for an assisted death did so because of loneliness and isolation.

In Belgium, research has also shown that hundreds of people suffering from mental health issues, addiction, loneliness, or despair have opted for euthanasia.

Ms Flood questions whether allowing people who are suffering psychologically, or through isolation from others, is a correct response in a "civilised society". Her letter continues:

"Will euthanasia and assisted suicide be offered as the societal response to devaluation, emotional seclusion, and loss of social significance experienced by our fellow human beings who experience loneliness? Will help and human affection be replaced by the offer of planned death? Is this a civilised response?"

CARE is strongly opposing proposals to allow terminally ill people to access lethal drugs on the NHS. Legislation has been brought forward at Westminster and Holyrood.

Commenting on Scottish proposals earlier this year, a spokesman for CARE stressed that assisted suicide is not something a truly compassionate society should countenance:

"Good societies treat suicide as a terrible act, to be mourned and prevented. We want to see a Scotland where hope and help are at the centre of our response to human suffering, not lethal drugs. And we want to see excellent end-of-life care for every person. When assisted suicide is legalised, this goal is undermined."