City pilots right-to-die scheme

A CONTROVERSIAL new scheme, which provides people with the right to die in a medical emergency, is being piloted in Salford causing pro-life groups to brand it a ‘move towards legal suicide’.

In the first scheme of its kind in the UK, ‘Advanced Decision to Refuse Treatment’ (ADRT) cards can now be picked up from Swinton Library, instructing doctors not to treat a patient should they lose the capacity to make decisions, due to an accident or illness.

ADRTs already exist under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, for people who are terminally ill. The new cards will be available to all members of the public.