Andy Burnham has called for the assisted dying debate to be put on hold, arguing that palliative and social care need fixing first. Terminally ill mother Sophie Blake says this is devastating news for adults dying in unbearable suffering.
In an opinion piece for the Daily Express, Blake described the argument as one that has been heard for decades. "We've heard this argument for decades – 'fix palliative and social care first'," she wrote. "Yet during those decades, people have continued to die in agony."
Estimated 650 terminally ill adults per year
Blake highlighted that an estimated 650 terminally ill adults every year feel they have no option but to end their own lives because their suffering cannot be relieved. She also noted that others are forced to travel to Dignitas, often earlier than they would choose and often alone.
She argued that even the very best palliative care cannot relieve every person's suffering. Assisted dying and high-quality palliative care work side by side in many jurisdictions around the world, with 300 million people already having access to both.
Call for Burnham to meet terminally ill
"Once again, the needs of dying terminally ill adults are being pushed aside," Blake wrote. She said Andy Burnham needs to tell terminally ill people to their faces that they have no right to a compassionate death, and that they must continue to suffer while those with enough money can still travel abroad.
Blake pointed out that the overwhelming majority of the public supports changing the law. "Dying people don't have time for these endless excuses and delays," she said.
She concluded by asking Burnham to meet terminally ill, mentally competent adults and bereaved families to hear their stories, and then tell them they still do not deserve choice.
