The prominent philosophy professor, Peter Singer, who has previously written that parents should be allowed to euthanise babies with disabilities, is now facing a backlash after he endorsed assisted suicide for those who feel their life is “complete”.

Philosophers Peter Singer and Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek interviewed psychologist Daniel Kahneman, 90, just a few days before he died by assisted suicide in Switzerland. Kahneman was not terminally ill, and had sent “a farewell email” to his family explaining his decision, saying he was “still active, enjoying many things in life”.

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Singer and Lazari-Radek note that Kahneman was not seriously ill or debilitated, describing his condition as “cheerful and lively, with no mental lapses”. Kahneman said he had chosen assisted suicide in order to “forestall natural decline, not slip helplessly into a state” that he said he had experienced with his mother.

The philosophers expressed their approval of Kahneman’s decision in an article in the New York Times, writing “One lesson to learn from his death is that if we are to live well to the end, we need to be able to freely discuss when a life is complete, without shame or taboo. Such a discussion may help people to know what they really want. We may regret their decisions, but we should respect their choices”.

Dangers of promoting “a pro-suicide culture”

Wesley J. Smith, an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism, expressed his alarm at the comments and “attitude” of Singer and Lazari-Radek, saying, “Do you see the problem with that attitude? Do the philosophers not understand how bigoted and anti-intrinsic dignity of life their relativistic assumptions are about when a life is worth continuing?”

Smith warned that the philosophers’ views in such a prominent publication would “promote the West’s devolution into a pro-suicide culture”, adding “The victims of such a nihilistic mindset will be the elderly, people with disabilities, the mentally ill, and the seriously sick in an ever-widening swath of premature deaths”.

Smith also blasted the New York Times for publishing the article, saying, “One way to help suicidal people continue living is to not publish pro-suicide opinion pieces!” and described their addition of contact details for suicide prevention organisations at the foot of the article as “a sick joke”.

Proposal of “voluntary euthanasia scheme”

Singer and Lazari-Radek are not the first to speak in favour of suicide for those who believe their lives are “complete”. In the Netherlands,  a 2023 poll has indicated that 80% of Dutch voters believe that euthanasia should be available for those who consider their lives complete.

In 2023, the film Plan 75  imagined the possibility of a voluntary euthanasia scheme being introduced in Japan for all those over 75 as a “solution” to Japan’s ageing population. Shockingly, when the film came out in Japan, many commentators online expressed their support for the idea and suggested that this sort of scheme was precisely what Japan needed.

Fears of elderly people feeling under pressure to end their lives

The comments come as MPs prepare to vote on Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill, with fears being shared of elderly people feeling under pressure to end their lives. Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, fears legalising assisted suicide could lead to indirect pressure on older individuals to end their lives to avoid being a burden.

“I don’t think that they should have any pressure – either indirect or, you know, the other way – that they’re a burden and that’s where I really worry”, Sir Ed said.

A Savanta ComRes survey of older people found “84% say it is difficult for older people to say they feel lonely because they don’t want to be a burden”.

In 2020, the Centre for Ageing Better found “The repeated idea that older people will always be a ‘burden’, or that later life is an inevitable ‘drain’ on societal resources is hugely damaging”.

Polling from More in Common indicates that the British public are concerned about this issue, with 58% thinking it is “convincing” that elderly people may seek assisted suicide “because they worry about being a burden” or are under pressure.

During the debate at Second Reading, Labour MP Paulette Hamilton said the Bill “would place enormous pressure on disabled, elderly and poor people to opt to end their lives so as not to be a burden on their loved ones”.

Speaking of the Leadbeater Bill, the former Supreme Court Justice, Lord Sumption, said in the Times, “The real problem, however, is not the pressure applied by ‘other persons’. It is assumptions which many old and ill people spontaneously make about the attitudes of the society around them. They are afraid of being an emotional or financial burden”.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said, “Kim Leadbeater’s Bill offers no protection for people who are terminally ill who might be tempted to end their own lives because they feel like a burden, and Singer and Lazari-Radek’s dangerous comments should be rejected”.

“Every suicide, without exception, is a tragedy, and resources should be put into helping alleviate pain and suffering rather than offering people assisted suicide”.

LifeNews Note: Republished with permission from Right to Life UK.

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