Tag Archives: Dignity in Dying

#TOTW (x13!) Assisted Dying Week

Hey Folks!

Well as it has been #AssistedDyingWeek, there isn’t a single #TOTW but instead a whole week’s worth to highlight (see below).

Where to begin?

Well, I am hugely disappointed at the result of the vote in the House of Commons. However, this Bill was never going to make it any further really as it did not have the support of the Government. I was surprised at how many MPs did vote against it though. I understand that they were allowed to vote as a matter of conscience, but I thought it was an MP’s role to reflect the thoughts and views of their electorate – the vast majority of whom support the calls for progress toward some form of law governing Assisted Dying. Merely sweeping this issue under the carpet for another 5 years will not give the country what it needs in relation to Assisted Dying. If those MPs that were so against the Bill felt it was poorly written and in need of further safeguards, then the right thing to do would have been to vote YES and to send the Bill through to the next stage. Here it would have been scrutinised line by line, where there would have been plenty of opportunity for further debate and discussion on the law, both as it stands and how it may look in the future. Simply to dismiss it out of hand with some of the ill-thought out language used by some of the MPs was a great shame. It was a sad day for our democracy, when the people that were elected to represent our views, got it so badly wrong, being so out of touch with the people that put them there in the first place.

This is of course a setback, but the fight for a change in the law relating to Assisted Dying will go on. What this Bill has done is to get lots of publicity for the issue and to really bring it out into the open. This is what is needed. I believe that this issue is of such fundamental importance that it should be put to the people of this country in a referendum. If MPs are unable to move this forward then the public should be given the opportunity to decide. Surely there can’t be anything much more important than how people choose to end the lives and the support they can and should be given at such a time. If we are going to be having a referendum on an issue such as Britain’s continued membership of the European Union, then surely the matter of how and when we choose to die would merit such a similar show of public involvement?

I hope that I haven’t bombarded you all with too many tweets on the issue this week, it’s just that this is a matter that I feel very strongly about, and will continue to highlight as the fight for a change in the law goes on!

Thank you for all the favourites/likes/retweets etc this last week and for getting involved. It’s been a while since I had a feature week like this, and I enjoyed putting it all together!

If you feel strongly about this issue, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Write to your MP, join a campaign group, get involved! The law will not get changed unless we fight for it!

Thanks again!

Ben 🙂

  1. It’s great to see so many people using to follow the debate on ! This is what is needed – debate, not inaction!
  2. This Bill does not de-value life, far from it. It values quality of life & choice
  3. – Have you contacted your MP to see if they are attending today’s debate. Mine is and I have tweeted her.
  4. – Beautifully, and soundly-written article in support of the right to choose
  5. – “An “assisted dying” law sends the message that, if you are terminally ill…”
  6. “…taking your own life is something for you to consider….” AND SO IT SHOULD BE!!!
  7. – This letter, written by a Doctor, to me says why we *should* allow debate on this
  8. “More thought needs to go into amending the bill further and looking at the practicalities of how assisted dying could be implemented.”
  9. – Some Doctors say that current ‘ law is dangerous and cruel’
  10. – Welby urges MPs: reject right-to-die bill that ‘crosses the Rubicon’
  11. – Former chief prosecutor says laws must change to allow people to die
  12. – ‘ leaves vulnerable at risk’
  13. With the 2nd reading of ‘s Bill due on Friday, I’m having an
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