Sir, The phrase “assisted suicide” (report, Mar 6) bedevils the end-of-life debate. Suicide is an act of desperation by a mind at the end of its tether. It is the body in the fume-filled car, the man on the parapet, the woman on the railway line.

This is horrible, but it is a world away from the careful and deliberate decision made by competent individuals, who suffer from a chronic and incurable disease, about a way in which they wish for the inevitable to be met. There can be nothing wrong in requesting that one’s life should be brought to a neat and dignified end. There can be no sensible reason to object to this. I have spoken to many people on this subject, including my own late father, and the fear of being “kept going” past a decent “die-by date” is very common in this country.

The recent advice given by the General Medical Council is welcome, but does not go far enough. If it is clear to us and our medical advisers that there will become a point where such action might reasonably be taken, then a clear written statement, made earlier in the patient’s life, should be treated with as much respect as a will. We are not slaves. We own our lives.

There may have to be other legal requirements that should be satisfied, but they should not be such that they become a barrier to the patient’s wishes. If any supreme beings have an alternate point of view, I am sure that they can make this clear by thunderbolt, in the usual way.

Sir Terry Pratchett

Gerrards Cross, Bucks

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