Why Abolitionists must resist the assisted dying bill
The assisted dying bill being proposed in parliament poses a serious threat, as abolitionists we must resist this state violence as we have in its many forms so many times before.
Abolitionists are keenly aware of the dangers of the state. We know that the state applies laws differently depending on who you are. We know that when the state does act in line with its own laws that these are not morally motivated (many harms that happen in society are not deemed to be illegal and many things that do not harm people are). We know that laws are defined by a state founded upon and maintained by colonialism and capitalism. We know that every institution and arm of the state, as a result, is rife with ableism, classism, transphobia and racism. We know that these isms pervade society and we know that to imagine a state process immune to such influences is impossible. Yet some, when they think about assisted dying, forget all of this. In principle they think each person should be afforded the dignity of choosing their own death and this should be facilitated by the law. However to support such an idea in principle divorces it completely from the reality we live and organise in. A reality that prioritises profit and economy over lives, that prioritises pre-disabled people before disabled people, that prioritises genocide over liberation. To know the violence of the state is to know the threat of this law.
Abolitionists have mobilised against the violence of police, prisons, immigration detention, psychiatric institutions and we must now turn our attention to state assisted killing. Abolition is nothing without disability justice, whether violence comes from the police or from a medical professional we must always stand against it. All too often in our movements disabled, mad and elderly people experience violence, our accessibility needs are the first to be dropped in the name of capacity or urgency. The everyday nature of disability politics and the logistics of care can be seen as less glamorous than radical anti-police organising.
Decades of austerity and a new Labour government, keen to continue the cruelty of cuts, are systematically privatising and destroying our national health service. The idea that such a purposefully underfunded service could handle the lethal complexities of assisted dying is farfetched. The importance of free healthcare through the NHS is undeniable, however to pretend the NHS itself is without issue is also nonsensical. Ableism, racism and other prejudice has long been baked into the fabric of the NHS. Since its inception, it has restricted access to healthcare for some and coercively warehoused and violated others (forced sterilisation of disabled people, blanket use and abuse of Do Not Resuscitate Orders during the pandemic, psychiatric hospitals, to name just a few horrific examples). A politically manufactured financial pressure on the system has only worsened the treatment of people already oppressed in wider society.
Eugenics is a very real issue, despite the archaic or ‘extremist’ fringe message that is conjured by complicit politicians and media. We have seen that this ideology is alive and well with the Covid-19 pandemic (an issue which is still ongoing and which disabled folks are now offered close to zero state protection from). And a recently published book by John Pring details the state killing of hundreds of disabled people due to the gatekeeping of essential resources and mental abuse of the benefits system. The (notably liberal and status quo) UN found through an investigation in 2017 that the UK was committing grave and systematic violations of disabled people's rights (this past April they found there had still been no progress made in addressing this). Regardless, Elders, disabled and mad folks have been telling us and fighting this for centuries.
Ableism, ageism and sanism deeply shape almost every part of life in this country. To prioritise this policy above the countless areas that need desperate investment lays bare the state’s agenda and violent neglect of marginalised groups. Using resources to implement a new and costly process when basic resources such as housing and personal care are non-existent shows exactly what the government cares about.
The legalisation of assisted dying in Canada should serve as a grave warning. ‘Sophia’ a person too afraid to reveal her name to the public, was killed by assisted dying because she couldn't bear to continue in her search for affordable housing suitable for her disability. Kathrin Mentler, struggling with self harm and depression was told by a hospital to consider state assisted killing. Rose Finlay who has been offered state assisted killing within 90 days of application, feels it would be quicker than continuing her wait for vital services for her and her children. There are of course also the cases that do not make the news (not that many people in the UK will have heard about these cases as the state facilitated death of Sophia was not enough to make headline news here). A lack of public education about care and community means that the legalisation of assisted dying in Canada has further condoned the disposable way in which many people see others under capitalism. A disturbing poll of Canadians found a third supported assisted dying for the reason of homelessness and roughly the same figure for poverty. Assisted dying is not a ‘slippery slope’ to more sinister motives, it is a mechanism of the state designed to put profit before people and bring the public’s consent and social mores into line.
The reality is that we do not have enough capacity to protect all of us if this law comes into force. As much community building as we can do, many times we will not be in those hospital rooms, care homes or living rooms where these decisions are being made, nor party to the conversations and the personal power dynamics at play. That is why we must do all we can to resist this bill before it becomes a reality. Please talk to friends, family, fellow activists, colleagues, strangers, and explain to them why this law is a grave danger to us, the ones we love and our communities. Many people, especially those not personally affected, have never thought about the realities of such a law, and laying this out for them can make people aware of its dangers. Make sure to reach out and lend support to Disabled led collectives and the groups fighting this. Ask how you can help, get involved and finally, start fighting if you aren’t already for a better place for us all to live, where death is rarely the better option.
Groups campaigning on this issue (please get in touch with any others)
Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC)