Police ‘investigating’ as mother claims morphine dose ‘ended’ sick son’s life

Police said they were “investigating” after a mother told how she gave her cancer-stricken son a dose of morphine more than 40 years ago that she said “quietly ended his life”.

Antony Cooper’s son, Hamish, was five when he was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma – a rare childhood cancer – and died at home on December 1, 1981, aged seven.

Mrs Cooper, a former chair of Neuroblastoma UK, who lives in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, said her little boy was in “extreme pain” towards the end of his life.

She told BBC Radio Oxford: “I gave him a large dose of morphine which quietly ended his life.”

Thames Valley Police said it was “aware of reports of an alleged case of assisted suicide of a seven-year-old boy in 1981”.

The service added: “At this early stage, police are investigating these reports and are unable to comment further until their inquiries are complete.”

In May, speaking about her final moments with her son, Mrs Cooper told PA Real Life: “We were standing by his bed in the middle of the night.

“He expressed that he was in pain, and I asked, ‘Would you like me to take that pain away from him?’

“He said, ‘Yes, please, Mom,’ so I gave him a dose of morphine sulfate through the Hickman catheter.

“We saw how bravely he endured all this terrible treatment, we had him longer than originally anticipated, so the time was right.”

Euthanasia – the deliberate ending of a person’s life to relieve their suffering – is illegal in England and can be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.

As with all crimes, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) must follow the principles set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors when deciding whether to start or continue criminal proceedings.

Ms Cooper, who is currently living with terminal cancer and has joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic, was asked by the BBC if she understood she was potentially pleading guilty to manslaughter or murder. She replied: “Yes.”

She told the radio programme: “If they come 43 years after I let Hamish die peacefully, I’ll have to face the consequences. But they’ll have to be quick because I’m dying too.”

The debate about assisted suicide and calls for changes to the law have become louder in recent months, with legislation being considered in Scotland, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

High-profile faces have spoken out on the issue, including presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, who previously described the current law as “increasingly unbearable”, and presenter Dame Prue Leith, who called for “less nitpicking” and more constructive conversations on the issue.

In December, Dame Esther Rantzen, who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, revealed she had joined Dignitas.

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Campaigners opposed to the law change have expressed concerns that legalising assisted suicide could put pressure on vulnerable people to take their own lives out of fear of being a burden to others. They say disabled, elderly, sick and depressed people could be particularly vulnerable.