Watch as Dignity in Dying campaigner makes her case for assisted dying.

Suffolk News

Samantha Smith, from Gosbeck, is the lead Suffolk campaigner for Dignity in Dying and says assisted dying gives people the choice to avoid unnecessary suffering.

Transcript

00:00Having lost loved ones in kind of undignified ways unfortunately, so my grandpa a few years

00:07ago now passed and it was extremely upsetting to see how he went downhill and how he ended up

00:16being in like kind of a week before his passing. It's something that I know he wouldn't have wanted

00:26and was kind of expressed as well. Yeah so it's a story I've heard many times for me with my

00:33grandpa only this weekend with someone else with their their mum where that person is literally

00:40watching the person they love fold pieces in front of them be reduced to what is almost like

00:47an animalistic form. So my grandpa was fearful, didn't understand what was going on and was yeah

00:55was like I say like a wild animal terrified and in pain and you just have to stand on the

01:00sidelines helpless just watching and waiting and when that person does then pass

01:10obviously you have a degree of relief because they're not suffering anymore

01:14and that's what you see and sadly that is also what you remember. So you try not to

01:20remember that about them and you remember try and remember all the good times and

01:24but it does stay with you. England are bringing it in in one of the strictest ways compared to

01:30other countries that have gone about it differently and are going about it differently so I feel that

01:38with the safeguards we have in place and us going about it in that manner I don't have this fear of

01:43kind of a slippery slope argument that I know some people fear but then you know worry too

01:51much and you're not going to get out of bed in the morning for fear of what if this happened or what

01:55could happen. I fear I do think if the right safeguards are in place which this bill particularly

02:02has I don't personally have any worries no. Obviously there are many individuals who who do

02:11want more perhaps where it's not a terminal illness but it's more of a debilitating illness

02:16and I while I personally may you know kind of agree or disagree with them as far as you know

02:25dignity and dying are concerned these safeguards are crucial and I feel I feel what's being

02:31proposed at the moment I'd say I have no worries with and I'm very much for. I mean research has

02:38shown a lot of countries that have this in place assisted dying very few people actually use it

02:44it's more just peace of mind that it's there should they need it and just that alone is normally

02:51enough for people to be kind of content and very few people actually do end up needing it so it's

02:59that choice of having it sometimes more than actually yeah how many people actually need it

03:06or use it. Assisted dying should not and will not as far as I'm concerned replace palliative care

03:14so palliative care should have obviously you know money invested into it and to ensure it's the best

03:20of the best and that's what most people will be happy with comfortable with and and and will be

03:26supported by but it's just having that option where if palliative care isn't enough which

03:33it has been shown and people have seen firsthand it doesn't isn't enough people are still begging

03:39to be let go or in pain that can't be controlled with pain relief it is a highly emotive topic

03:46and I think you know beliefs and religions and things come into it as well

03:52and and obviously they do have to be respected but while they have to be respected it's

03:58why deny someone that option for somebody else's belief

04:04but yeah I mean I can't think of many more emotive subjects.

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