Bereaved families of terminally ill patients have written an emotional letter to MPs, urging them to “remember” their experiences as Parliament continues its scrutiny of the Assisted Dying Bill.
In their letter, they asked parliamentarians to “have us in the forefront of your mind in the coming weeks and months”, as they deliberate on legislation that could fundamentally change the way terminally ill people are allowed to end their lives in the UK.
The signatories, who include both bereaved relatives and individuals currently living with terminal illnesses, expressed the deep trauma caused by watching their loved ones suffer without the option of assisted dying. They wrote that “memories of how our loved ones died will haunt us for the rest of our lives”.
Proposed changes to the Bill
The letter comes as the Bill’s sponsor, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, seeks to amend the legislation to replace the requirement for High Court oversight with an expert panel consisting of psychiatrists and social workers.
Ms Leadbeater, who represents Spen Valley, said this change would strengthen the legislation and address concerns raised in expert evidence sessions last month. She noted that she had been “particularly impressed” by arguments that greater involvement from psychiatrists and social workers would provide additional safeguards for assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion.
In a separate letter to MPs, Ms Leadbeater described the first two days of line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill as “very productive”, adding that discussions had been “robust and passionate”.
However, her proposed amendment has faced opposition from a group of Labour MPs who argue that removing High Court oversight in favour of a panel would create a “whole new body with panels and a distant civil service Tsar to oversee assisted dying”.
In a letter signed by five Labour MPs – Dame Meg Hillier, Antonia Bance, Jess Asato, James Frith, and Melanie Ward – they expressed concerns that MPs who originally voted for judicial oversight would now be uneasy about handing such decisions to a civil servant-led panel.
Their letter states: “Many MPs were already deeply concerned about the removal of the High Court oversight that they voted for. Now the Bill’s supporters are proposing a civil servant should make decisions on life and death, working with a panel that doesn’t even have to meet the patient.”
Backlash from opponents of the Bill
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, a vocal opponent of the Bill, criticised the amendment in a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying: “The new plan: drop the judicial safeguard, replace it with a panel – not a court – without a judge, sitting in private, without meeting the patient, without family informed or able to appeal against an approval; and approval must be given if the easy test of ‘capacity’ is met.”
His concerns highlight the broader debate about the appropriate level of scrutiny and safeguards required in legalising assisted dying, an issue that has long divided both Parliament and the public.
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Voices from bereaved families
Ms Leadbeater has ensured that MPs receive the letter from bereaved families, which was authored by Pat Malone, a man whose family has been profoundly affected by the lack of assisted dying laws.
In the letter, Mr Malone shares how his father, Patrick, died in “agonising pain” from pancreatic cancer, asking for help to die but having no legal option to do so. He also recounted the tragic story of his brother Michael, who took his own life while suffering from the same disease, and his sister, Trudi, who travelled to Switzerland to end her life at Dignitas after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
Trudi had wished to die at home, surrounded by her family and pets, but was forced to travel abroad due to the UK’s restrictive laws.
Among the 22 signatories of the letter was Liz Reed, whose brother Rob Smyth died peacefully in Australia, where assisted dying is legal. The letter states that Rob was able to pass away “in a place of his choosing, with his family holding his hand, peacefully and without pain.”
A plea for change
Concluding the letter, Mr Malone wrote:
“It is too late for my father, my brother, and my sister. It is too late for the loved ones of many of the people who have signed this letter, but it is not too late for those who come after. You and all of the other MPs have the power to transform our lives, and indeed our deaths, for the better. Please remember our stories and have us in the forefront of your mind in the coming weeks and months.”
As the Assisted Dying Bill continues to be debated, the voices of those who have witnessed the suffering of their loved ones will be at the heart of discussions, with campaigners hoping Parliament will finally enact legislation to offer choice and dignity to terminally ill patients in the UK.
