The Mail on Sunday published a story about MDMD supporter Alex Pandolfo who suffers from Alzheimer’s and is planning to end his life at Lifecircle in Switzerland. It is a significant article as Alex is explaining his reasons before he ends his life. He mentions one of his difficulties as being the timing of when to end his life. He wants to live as long as possible, but not risk leaving it too late, when his mental capacity is lost.
The article is excellent so far as it goes, and has received many comments, almost universally supportive. However, it fails to go into sufficient detail to explain that dementia sufferers like Alex would not be helped by the Bill rejected by parliament in 2015 as that was limited to those with a life expectancy of 6 months or less. By the time a dementia sufferer reaches this point it is highly unlikely that they will have the mental capacity to make a life ending decision. Dementia is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales according to data from the Office of National Statistics.
MDMD campaign for a law that will help people like Alex.
MDMD frequently gets requests from journalists for personal stories of people who want to have an assisted death. If you have a relevant story you would be prepared to talk to a journalist about please let us know. We can provide appropriate press contacts and can provide background and supplementary interviews to help ensure your story is reported correctly. These articles are very important to publicise and build support for our campaign. If you agree with our aims, please consider helping us in this way.
