Good afternoon friend,

Together, we’ve done it. After months of campaigning for more evidence-gathering, at Tuesday’s All-Party Parliamentary Group meeting Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, called on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to publish any relevant data regarding the impact on terminally ill people of the blanket ban on assisted dying. 

“It’s an important subject, and a sensitive one and I think that the data should underpin a high quality debate.”

- Matt Hancock

This announcement shows that the Secretary of State has been listening to our calls for evidence and recognises the “unfairness” of the status quo. This is an important step to uncovering the truth about how the law works and a victory for dying people and their families.

Tuesday’s meeting saw more than 100 MPs and Peers gather together to hear the Health Secretary’s thoughts on the issues, as well as moving personal testimony from Barbara Wall whose 93 year old father tragically took his own life in 2016 after struggling with terminal oesophageal cancer. The meeting was skillfully chaired by Andrew Mitchell MP who covered a range of issues with the Health Secretary.

Alongside the announcement of new research there were other clear shifts in the tone of the discussion that show a more explicit commitment to assisted dying as an issue that will soon return to Parliament: 

• The Secretary of State recognised the “unfairnesses” of the status quo and showed an interest in moving the conversation on from abstract discussion. He was clear in his admiration for the dying people who have given their final weeks to fight for this choice and called for a detailed, evidence-based debate, grounded in the experiences of dying people and their families.
• It was clear that Matt Hancock understood assisted dying as a logical implication of a health system moving consistently in the direction of individual choice.
• He recognised the contribution of Dignity in Dying to the debate and applauded our honesty and commitment.

I’m grateful to the Health Secretary for advancing the debate on this issue and for recognising the hard work that Dignity in Dying and its supporters do to ensure that transparency and evidence are at its core.

This is a significant victory for the campaign. Parliament is no longer sitting, but when it returns we will be in touch on how you can make sure your MP knows about this progress and encourage them to act on it! 

My sincerest thanks for all that you do to support the campaign.