Good afternoon friend,
Groundbreaking new research published today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirms what assisted dying campaigners have long known: banning assisted dying forces dying people to take matters into their own hands in order to control their suffering. Please make sure that your MP sees this research - if you can, please Tweet your MP today.
This data was instigated as a result of a Dignity in Dying parliamentary meeting last year, at which the then Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, announced that he had asked the ONS to investigate the data available on terminally ill people taking their own lives.
This is a vital piece of evidence demonstrating that changing the law on assisted dying would be safer and more compassionate than the current law.
All dying people should have access to the highest-quality palliative care. But we know that 17 people a day will suffer as they die despite the very best care. The current law forces these people to consider alternatives that are needlessly violent, unsafe, and traumatising to those left behind.
In our 2021 report Last Resort: the hidden truth about how dying people take their own lives in the UK, we uncovered the scale and impact of these deaths. Your MP needs to know that this is happening. They can’t ignore this.
How much more evidence of the danger and cruelty of the current law is needed before we accept that it is not fit for purpose? How many more daughters need to get a phone call that their 93-year-old father died by hanging himself in the garage? How many more doctors need to be told their cancer patient ended their life with a gun or walked in front of a lorry? How many more?
This research is heartbreaking. It puts into cold, hard facts, the suffering of hundreds of dying people and their families. It is vital evidence supporting the urgent need for law reform. MPs must be given the chance to act. Now.
Thank you for reading this email and for giving your MP the opportunity to respond to this vital new evidence.
Sincerely,
Sarah Wootton
Dignity in Dying
P.S. If you don’t have Twitter or have another 30 seconds to spare, please make sure you’ve demonstrated your support by signing our government petition, and help us return the assisted dying debate to Parliament.
