A consensual solution to the Assisted Dying controversy

The whole (protracted, bitter) debate about assisted dying, or euthanasia, or assisted suicide, has been unnecessary. From the start there was a simpler and superior solution.

The traditional penalties for assisting a person (often a loved one who is suffering) to die, or killing them, have been harsh, involving the threat (at least) of time and even many years in prison.

This could have been, could still be, replaced by a mandatory suspended sentence of one year.

That is, someone convicted of ending the life of a terminally ill person, or of a person who is severely incapacitated, and who has indicated a wish to end their life, should not “re-offend” in the immediately subsequent years (i.e. on pain of imprisonment).

Anyone helping another to die would need, after the fact, to register their assistance, which registration would reduce the length of time for which a sentence would be suspended.

There is zero need for medics (surgeons, doctors or similar) to be involved. A debatable candidate would be vets, who regularly put animals down, but I have another proposal:

What is needed is access to lethal drugs (such as heroin derivatives), which ideally should not be bought from street vendors.

Such access might be restricted to persons of a certain age.

One argument against suicide is that society (often family) has invested a great deal in socialising and educating a person, who therewith has an obligation to remain around. Even if they are in desperate circumstances, these may change such that they can again contribute to general well-being.

It might be claimed that, by the time old age impinges, this debt will have been paid. The term “old age” is open to interpretation; traditionally it has been three score years and ten.

Those beyond this threshold would be able to obtain a small quantity of lethal drugs, not necessarily from a pharmacist (who may have moral qualms), but from some other accredited source. These poisons could be used by the recipient directly or to end the life of a suffering loved one.