David Kirwan

Prospective Independent MP for Wirral West David Kirwan has called for a bigger debate on the controversial subject of assisted suicide.

David, who was the first Independent candidate to announce he was standing at the General Election, said the debate needed to also address the withdrawal of treatment from patients in a persistent vegetative state (PSV).

David said: “A poll now suggests that more than 50 per cent of the public approve the concept of assisted suicide and the prominence of this subject grows with the entry into the public debate by well known personalities such as Sir Terry Pratchett who has suggested setting up Coroner Tribunals presumably to provide rulings on this emotive subject.

“We should not, however, forget the case of Rom Houben who was diagnosed as being in PVS and treated for 23 years until advances in medical techniques by chance discovered that he was found to have brain activity and to be suffering from “locked-in” syndrome.

“This case has huge implications for the legality of withdrawing treatment from PVS patients. Our traditional reliance upon and acceptance of medical opinion must now be seriously questioned in terms of the need for a wider public debate.

“Is it fair to criticise MPs for their reluctance to legislate in the face of growing public support for assisted suicide? But then who is to sit in judgement on these life or death issues? In the meantime in the absence of a conclusion the more we talk the better.”