32. Assisted Dying.

Today in the UK, Members of Parliament are voting on an Assisted Dying Bill for the first time in almost ten years.

I am, or at least, I was, in favour of assisted dying being legal in the UK. I do believe that everyone should have the right to die as/when they want to. I joined Dignitas in 2016 after I became ill/disabled with ME in 2014, but I let my membership lapse this year. Because having heard what others in the disabled community have to say, I’ve been having second thoughts about my feelings on this.

Do I think that terminally ill patients who have nothing to look forward to but pain and suffering for what little life they have left should be able to exit the world early? Yes.

Do I still think that all people should really have the right to choose when and how they die, for whatever reason? Yes I do.

But do I worry about what this means for chronically ill and disabled people, who are not provided with the care or services they need to live well, and are considered burdens on society and the economy, who may feel coerced or pressured into an ‘assisted death’? Hell yes.

I do not feel ok that my government could make it easier for me to die, than to live as well as possible with severe ME.

Before giving me the option to die, I want: appropriate and accessible healthcare and social care, sufficient/higher disability benefits, funding for ME research, ME specialists in hospitals, all GP surgeries to have GPs who know how to support ME patients, and treatments.

If I were to choose assisted dying, without having had access to any of these services that would allow me to live well with my disability, could it really be considered a choice?

“A United Nations report on assisted dying and disability concluded that people can feel subtly pressured by "attitudinal barriers as well as the lack of appropriate services and support" to end their lives prematurely.” Dominic Grieve in The Times