Kim Leadbeater MP, who came first in the Private Member’s Bill ballot, has announced she will present a Bill on assisted dying. My Death, My Decision welcomes this news and urges Kim Leadbeater MP to listen to people who are intolerably suffering from incurable conditions, such as people with Multiple Sclerosis, Locked-in Syndrome or Huntington’s.
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death My Decision, said:
“The introduction of an assisted dying Bill in the House of Commons is a significant and long-awaited step, made even more promising by the Prime Minister’s firm commitment to ensure a full, open debate and decisive vote. The nation stands on the brink of a profound and compassionate shift in how we provide the dignity of choice for people who are intolerably suffering.
However, proposals presented to Parliament previously have limited the choice of help to die to those who are terminally ill, with fewer than six months to live. A Bill drawn on that basis will not only constrain proper debate from the outset, but any law would then exclude help to those who are suffering unbearably from incurable conditions like Multiple Sclerosis and Huntington’s, among others. At My Death, My Decision we therefore urge politicians to ensure that people in those circumstances be considered too, so that they have the right to receive help to end their suffering at a time of their choosing.”
Coming first in the Private Member’s Bill ballot greatly increases the chances of it making progress. Combined with a pledge from the prime minister to have a meaningful vote on this subject, means that this will be the most important opportunity to change the law in a decade.
However, previous Bills and attempts to change the law in England and Wales to date have been limited to people who have six months or fewer left to live. Such a narrow law would not have helped over half of the British people who have travelled to Switzerland for an assisted death.
Many conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease can make life intolerable for the sufferer well before they can be described as terminal, or the diagnosis of terminal status may come too late, when the patient has lost mental capacity.
Notes:
Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033.
Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives.
