Terminally ill man Chooses to End life by Assisted dying and Explained Why He Made The Decision
A man who was very sick and knew he was going to die soon chose to end his life with medical help. Before he passed away, he invited the BBC to speak with him and be there during his final moments. He wanted to share why he made that decision.
In the UK, the topic of assisted dying—where a person can choose to end their life with help from a doctor if they are seriously ill—is still being debated in Parliament. Last year, members of Parliament voted in favor of a bill that could allow it, but many more steps are needed before it becomes law. Meanwhile, places like the Isle of Man have already started allowing it, and California has had a similar law since 2016.
The UK bill was introduced by a Labour MP named Kim Leadbeater. It says that people over 18 who are mentally capable and have less than six months to live could choose to end their life in a peaceful and planned way.
As part of its coverage on the subject, the BBC traveled to California to meet Wayne Hawkins, an 80-year-old man from San Diego. Wayne had invited them to witness his final day. He had been suffering from several serious health problems—heart failure, liver failure, sepsis, and prostate cancer—that made it hard for him to leave his home and caused him a lot of pain.
Wayne explained that the pain was often unbearable and that he didn’t want to spend his last days in a hospital, hooked up to machines. He wanted to die on his own terms, peacefully, in a place he felt comfortable.
Wayne’s wife Stella, and his two children, Ashley and Emily, were with him when he died. A local doctor named Donnie Moore helped with the process. Stella fully supported Wayne’s choice. She said she had known him for more than 50 years and described him as someone who always made decisions for himself and tried to fix things. She said she didn’t want to see him suffer any longer.
Some religious groups oppose assisted dying because they believe life is a gift from God and should not be ended by choice. Still, the discussion about making it legal continues in the UK. Some say it could still take several more years before any final law is passed.
