From Mr P. Walton, MRPharmS
SIR,—I have been very interested in the topic of physician-assisted suicide, and even responded to the British Medical Association's request for input into the debate, with submissions I might regret discussing openly. The problem with the open discussion of such a delicate subject in the letters columns of the PJ is fear of prosecution. In one case, a patient was aided in some way to end his life by a doctor, for which the doctor had to go through a murder trial. Although he was found not guilty, the doctor still had to find one third of his defence costs, which to my mind is telling professions not to discuss the truth openly. I feel that if the fear was removed, many of us would have tales to tell.
Philip Walton Swinton, Manchester