Pretty much all today's papers are reporting Terry Pratchett's speech tonight in which he is expected to offer himself up as a test case for assisted suicide tribunals.
At the annual Richard Dimbleby lecture, Pratchett, who suffers from Alzheimer 's disease, is expected to advocate euthanasia for those with incurable diseases.
This move has pushed Pratchett's face and the assisted suicide debate onto the front pages in spectacular fashion and it will be interesting to see the reaction from the political classes.
It seems most MPs are remaining tight lipped on the subject although it seems to be becoming quite a hot issue. I get the sense that perhaps they are trying to gauge the potential reaction from the public, which in one respect is admirable because if there was ever something that needed political and public consensus to be built it is assisted suicide.
However, at some point someone may well have to take a stand and change the law, as The Telegraph shows there is strong support for a change, but how any safeguards on suicide might work may prove a sticking point. Pratchett is expected to put his backing behind a tribunal model but the legal system is often far from swift and when you are talking about deteriorating (possibly rapidly so) conditions it may not prove responsive enough with people possibly losing vital mental capacity before a hearing date or simply suffering prolonged periods of pain. Building that consensus may take even longer than it does to build one to tackle the problem at all.
The fact that we are having this debate in the open is good, but those hoping for a quick solution for themselves, their relatives or the good of the nation may still have a wait on their hands.
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