Dear Kim Leadbeater MP,
Firstly, we thank you for bringing forward an assisted dying bill. This will be one of the most significant ethical issues of our generation. As a group—some living with incurable conditions, others having seen loved ones suffer—we all believe that people enduring intolerable suffering deserve choice and dignity.
We urge that any law should not be limited to those with six months or fewer to live. It should include adults of sound mind who are suffering unbearably from an incurable physical condition and have a clear, settled wish to die. The safeguards must be clear and robust to protect everyone involved, but the process should not be so complex that it causes unnecessary suffering or people dying before they can exercise their choice.
Too many have been forced to suffer in silence or travel abroad to access end-of-life options. Assisted dying is not about giving up on life; it’s about offering a compassionate choice when suffering becomes unbearable. Each of us has a story that could have ended differently with the right legislation in place.
We ask you to ensure that this law allows individuals autonomy over their own lives, with the support and protection of the law.
Thank you again for championing this issue. We trust you will continue to listen to those most affected and support a fair, compassionate law.
Yours sincerely,
Information of signatories:
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Colin Barnes | Colin’s wife Jane suffered from multiple sclerosis and expressed a wish to die. Jane was in excruciating pain over most of her body, she suffered many spasms, she was bed-bound and she could not eat or drink. She died in 2023, weeks after speaking to the Mirror about her experience. |
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Amanda Clement-Hayes | Amanda’s father-in-law, Eddy, died just ten weeks after a bladder cancer diagnosis. He had a brutally painful death in a hospice and Amanda believes he should have had a choice. |
| Carole Clohesy | Carole’s mother lived with severe pain for most of her life, starting with a spinal injury that led to years of inadequate pain management. Her suffering only got worse as she aged due to osteoarthritis and other health problems. | |
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Patrica Donoghue | Patricia’s husband Kevan had a terrible death after a shock cancer diagnosis. Patricia is a retired nurse practitioner and couldn’t believe how much pain her husband was in. He died after not eating or drinking for three weeks as a result of his illness. |
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Jean Eveleigh | Jean Eveleigh has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic, degenerative condition that is progressively robbing Jean of all her bodily functions. Jean firmly believes the place and timing of her death should be her choice when she no longer has any quality of life. |
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Bryan and Annie Grayson | Bryan and Annie watched on as Annie’s father Harry suffered an inhumane death against his wishes. He was not terminally ill, but was never going to get better, only decline. Aged 102, Harry starved to death in order to have control. |
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Anne Jappie | Anne has Multiple Sclerosis and is in her late 60’s. She can no longer travel unaided to Switzerland for an assisted death but doesn’t want her loved ones to be punished for helping her. |
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Nikki Davey and Helena Killip | Nikki Davey and Helena Killip are the family of Alan Davey, who suffered from Motor Neurone Disease and wanted to go to Switzerland for an assisted death. Unfortunately, he was not well enough to be able to go and had left it too late. Nikki said if Alan could have avoided the last four painful months he experienced, he most definitely would have chosen to. |
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Sophie Korevaar | Sophie is 40 years old and has Multiple Sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. She wants to have an assisted death to avoid unnecessary pain should her condition become unbearable. Sophie is starting a Dignitas fund as she is so scared of what the future holds. |
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Sue Lawford | Sue Lawford was arrested at 5.30 am, put in a cell and held for 19 hours, and then subjected to a six-month police investigation, for escorting Sharon Johnston to receive an assisted death in Switzerland. |
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Vivien Mainwaring | Vivien suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe, as well as an incurable Leukaemia. She is now on a pathway to a Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis. She watched her parents die horrible, painful deaths and doesn’t want the same. She now struggles with her speech and wants the choice of an assisted death when her suffering becomes too much. |
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Lauren, Beth and Jane Nicklinson | Lauren, Beth and Jane Nicklinson are the family of Tony Nicklinson, a man with Locked-in syndrome who took his case to the high court for the right to die. Tony lost his case and died after refusing food and treatment. |
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Clare Powell | Clare’s parents both died horrendous deaths while suffering from dementia. Before his diagnosis, her dad said, “If I ever get like ‘that’ I’ve got chemicals, and I’ll be off.” Instead, he was “kept alive against his will” and died in a nursing home in 2023. |
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Craig Scott | Craig’s father, Ivan died from end-stage heart failure in 2017. He wanted an assisted death but was refused help in the UK. He died slowly and in pain. One of Ivan’s sons had to leave the room because of his dad’s screams. Palliative care was not enough. |
| George Smith | George’s mother, Maureen, took her own life because she found her life intolerable due to the pain caused by Trigeminal Neuralgia and Multiple Sclerosis. She was robbed of dignity and compassion as she died alone. | |
| Dave Sowry | Dave’s wife, Christy, suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and made the decision to travel to Switzerland for an assisted death in 2022. Dave reported her death after he returned to the UK where he was investigated for several months before the case was closed. | |
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Laura Tomlinson | Laura’s mother, Kay, died in Jan 2024 after a long battle with Parkinson’s and other health issues. Her mother took ten days to die after she stopped eating and drinking. She died a skeleton covered in bed sores. In the final weeks, she could not sit in her beloved garden or eat or drink. |
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Penny Truscott | Penny’s mother, Joyce Wilton, 99, died at a care home after begging staff to “do something so she wouldn’t wake up in the morning”. The Second World War voluntary military nurse stopped taking her heart medication last summer to try to shorten her suffering. It took her 18 days to starve herself to death |
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Kate and Sarah Tuckley | Sarah (wife) and Kate (sister) travelled with Dan to Switzerland in 2022 after a shock cancer diagnosis. The family were questioned by police on their return. Police have now closed the case. |
| Clare Turner | In 2021, Clare was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. A single mother with two daughters in higher education, Clare wants to be around for her children and leave them money when she dies. She cannot, therefore, afford an assisted death in Switzerland and instead has the mental anguish of what her death will be like. | |
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Jane Vervoots | Jane’s husband Dirk died at home in 2023. He had Huntingdon’s disease and had made three suicide attempts before his death because he was ready for the suffering to end. Jane was treated like a criminal in the months after his death. |
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Tim Wardle | Tim is in his 80s and has terminal kidney cancer. He watched both his parents and all his siblings suffer painful deaths (bar one sister), and he doesn’t want the same death as his family experienced. |
| Gemma Williams | Gemma suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Her grandparents and father-in-law had terrible, drawn-out deaths and would have preferred an assisted death. Gemma wants to ensure a law protects her in the future. |
