Renowned British photographer Rankin has joined forces with campaign group Dignity in Dying to release a series of videos urging MPs to revive the assisted dying bill, which stalled in the House of Lords last month after passing the Commons. The videos feature eight terminally ill people, aged 19 to 77, who share their personal stories and call for the bill to be passed.
Rankin’s involvement began after he photographed Paola Marra, a 53-year-old with terminal bowel cancer, who later died at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland in March 2024. The image, showing Marra giving the finger to cancer, became a powerful symbol for the assisted dying campaign. Rankin described the encounter as 'a punch to the stomach'.
The bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, passed the Commons but was held up in the Lords by around 1,200 amendments tabled by a handful of peers. The new videos, titled 'Time to Back the Bill Again', aim to reignite support ahead of Thursday’s private member’s bill ballot.
Barbara Shooter, 69, who features in the videos, drove her husband Adrian to Dignitas in 2022 after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. She has since been diagnosed with the same condition. 'I want my choice,' she said, expressing anger at the Lords’ actions. 'Who wants to face horror and pain and awfulness at the end of their life when you know you’re not going to get better?'
New polling by Opinium for Dignity in Dying found that 69% of the public believe the debate should continue until parliament reaches a decision, while 61% think the government should ensure MPs and peers have enough time to consider the bill.
