No, not this

To start with in this entry, locked-in syndrome is an affliction one would not wish on anyone you would know personally.  Very occasionally they recover, most die earlier than they would normally.  Tony Nicklinson and his (anonymous) fellow sufferer live in tortuous circumstances following their strokes and know not when they will be freed from their anguish.

But I am glad they have failed in their High Court challenge to assisted suicide.  This is not from any callous disregard for their wellbeing, but precedent.  They wanted doctors to end their lives early, because their loved ones are incapable of doing so.  This goes far further than most calling for the decriminalisation of assisted suicide – they want to stop the prosecution of those family or friends who do not prevent the death of those committing self-homicide.  This is contentious enough but Nicklinson and his fellow defendant want doctors to actively end their lives.

When any doctor enters the profession in the Western world, they swear the Hippocratic Oath, not the hypocritical oath.  They swear to uphold the preservation of life.  This is why there is controversy  in the USA that non-qualified medical staff oversee executions in prison jails.  So what if a doctor refuses to comply with assisted suicide?  Will they be struck off?  Will they themselves face prison?  Nicklinson doesn’t want to ‘inconvenience’ his wife.  Nor does he want to go to Dignitas in Switzerland.  This sounds more like a political crusade and a malign one at that.

Failing all else, he could construct a ‘mind palace’ like Hannibal Lector.  Okay, Nicklinnson is not on par with a cannablistic serial killer, but it may help him find some peace.