Assisted suicide risks the coercion of the sick and vulnerable, author JK Rowling has warned in a post on X to her 14 million followers.
She wrote in response to a comment accusing her of being “fixed” in her beliefs. As well as assisted suicide, she added that she no longer thinks cannabis is harmless, and is undecided on her religious beliefs.
Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament. If the Bill becomes law, those who have been resident in Scotland for at least twelve months could get help from a medic to kill themselves if they are deemed to be terminally ill.
‘Opened my eyes’
JK Rowling wrote in the post: “I used to believe in assisted dying.
“I no longer do, largely because I’m married to a doctor who opened my eyes to the possibilities of coercion of sick or vulnerable people.”
She also stated: “I used to believe cannabis was essentially harmless. I no longer do because I’ve witnessed it wreaking havoc on someone I care about’s mental health.”
Doctors’ warnings
In June, over a thousand doctors signed a letter urging MPs to reject Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill for England and Wales.
Signed by experienced medical professionals, many of whom regularly work with dying patients, the letter stated: “This Bill will widen inequalities, it provides inadequate safeguards and, in our collective view, is simply not safe.”
Risks to patients under the Bill, the letter warned, included a failure to “necessitate treatment of depression”, little protection for vulnerable patients against coercion, and a paucity of information on “the inadequacies of medical prognosis”.
‘Suicide is wrong and so is this Bill’: Peers decry assisted suicide in first debate
