Last night I watched this film about assisted dying. I found it thought provoking, challenging, emotional. It made me question my views on both sides of the argument.

It’s a subject that divides opinion, and I’m not wanting to stand up for either side or be persuaded either way – each person’s opinion and life/death choice is and should be their own. There are truths on both sides.

What it did highlight was the failing of effective, compassionate, holistic palliative care. It showed how exhausted and burnt out carers were. It showed how some of the choices to end life were driven by a fear of being a burden to loved ones or a fear that their humanity would be reduced if they needed intimate personal care. It made me think about how we as a society care, what our expectations and judgements tell us about caring – for others or by others.

I was affected the most by the people, who with no legal option for an assisted death in the UK, saw their only way to avoid a feared decline to death was to refuse food and drink, thus bringing on a brutal shortening of life.

Again, I don’t have perfect answers, but I am certain that better support is needed. Physical, emotional and spiritual support of the dying, better education / understanding of the way we die, more compassionate support for carers and the bereaved are desperately needed. I believe that this would have made the end of life kinder and gentler on all the families, whether their choice was to end life or let it take its course.