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Episode details

Radio 4,18 Feb 2010,30 mins

Terminal Sedation: Backdoor Euthanasia?

The Report

Available for over a year

Author Terry Pratchett has argued that assisted suicide should be legal in the UK - but there is already a medical technique widely used in the NHS which some campaigners claim is euthanasia by the backdoor. Called terminal sedation, it's used to ease the pain and suffering of the very sick. But critics say it can hasten death. Linda Pressly investigates the extent of terminal sedation and examines if it is always in the interests of patients and their families.

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