Beware the ‘optimism bias’ over assisted suicide

If you have ever done a driver’s awareness course (yes, this is autobiographical), there is a section where the instructor will ask you to grade yourself out of ten as a driver. Most people will select 7-9 as their self-assessment. Which is ironic given the course you are doing.

The instructor might then explain that science tells us there are three biases going on. Firstly, there is the optimism bias: we assume we will be fine and will never be involved in a serious prang or crash. Secondly, the what-about bias: we look back on times where we’ve overtaken on a bend and because it all worked out, we assume it will be fine again. Finally, there is the skill enhancement bias: we think we’re better drivers than we are.

This has stayed with me. It could equally apply to the human condition. By nature, outside of God’s saving love, we find it hard to self-assess accurately. I would argue that most, if not all of us have an optimism bias: we assume we are good people. It is partly why the challenge of Christianity and the gospel is so hard to hear. We don’t like being told 'there is no-one righteous, no not one…. All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.' (Romans 3)

Right now, MPs are deciding what to do when the new assisted suicide bill in the House of Commons comes up for debate, with a likely vote as well. My warning to them and to all who wonder if assisted suicide might be okay, is this: beware the optimism bias.

Can it be exploited?

Firstly, MPs must assure themselves there is no possible way any assisted suicide law would ever be abused or exploited. Because the stakes are so high, just one mistake will result in someone being helped to kill themselves when deep down, they just want help to live. The optimism bias assumes that we can put in place enough safeguards to stop exploitation and abuse. It also assumes we can accurately predict if someone has just six months or less to live. But is this credible?

Just look at how challenging it is to get an accurate medical prognosis. We must surely all know stories where the doctor has got it wrong; sometimes it means an illness is missed, other times it means a predicted time of death is wildly off and the person lives far, far longer. The proposed assisted suicide law depends on accurate prognosis and the optimism bias assumes we will get it right. But deep down, we must know this is not true.

Can we really make a free choice?

Secondly, the optimism bias assumes that everyone who chooses an assisted suicide does so free from pressure and coercion. It assumes that people will make their own, rational choice. But the problem is people make decisions due to a huge range of social, psychological, and environmental pressures and sometimes we are not even aware of it.

Assisted suicide proponents like to paint this picture of a world where choosing an assisted suicide is but one option among many. Yet time and again the evidence from other countries tells us that people do often fear being a burden on others and therefore, they feel they have no real choice. This is not true freedom.

Please make no mistake in your mind. Changing the law to give doctors the legal right to help patients commit suicide is one of the most fundamental shifts in our laws for decades. It would forever alter the doctor and patient relationship.

In His Word, God commands us not to murder. He tells us the He is the One who gives and takes life. All human life is from Him. We are not given permission, not placed under the enormous burden of choosing our point of death. This is a tremendous mercy from God. We entered this world as dependent beings and we are dependent all our lives. Yes, this increases in intensity at different seasons. But even as I write this article, I’m dependent on those who have written helpfully so I might better understand this topic, I’m dependent on my laptop – the means to deliver this article – and I’m dependent on EN to publish it. In the Christian worldview, dependence upon God belongs to the essence of what it means to be human. Dependance is good. Being depended upon is also good.

Ironically, proponents of assisted suicide have an optimism bias about assisted suicide but are far too pessimistic about the power of palliative care. Not only does palliative care help give true dignity at the end of life especially, it also works in managing pain in nearly every case. Palliative care is a truly Christian response because its whole ethic is to say to the dying person: it is good that you still exist.

Assisted suicide says to a dying person, it would be good if you did not exist. This is not compassion. It is not love. It is not kindness or mercy. It is wrong and must be resisted.