A terminally ill mother has issued an emotional plea to MPs to revive the assisted dying bill, warning that she does not have 'endless time' to wait for political progress. Hannah Slater, 38, from Bristol, is living with stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her brain and leptomeninges, and was told earlier this year she has only months left to live.
Urgent appeal to Parliament
Speaking after a Private Members' Bill ballot opened a possible route for the legislation to return to Parliament, Ms Slater urged MPs drawn near the top of the ballot to take up the cause. 'I do not have endless time to wait for politics to catch up. For people like me, this is about whether we get any say over how our lives end and how much suffering we are expected to endure,' she said.
'Knowing that decision is not in my own hands is a feeling I can barely describe. Members of the House of Lords took that chance away from me when they blocked the Bill from progressing.'
A mother's fight
Ms Slater, who has a three-year-old son named Theo, was first diagnosed with breast cancer when her son was just eight months old. After 18 months of treatment, she was given the all-clear and returned to work, only to fall ill again. She spent a week in hospital before being told she had brain cancer, which has now spread to the cerebrospinal fluid in a condition known as leptomeningeal disease (LMD).
'It was annoying. I got the all clear, but obviously it had already spread to my brain at some point. The LMD is the worst bit because it causes plaque to build up in the fluid around your brain, and so much can go wrong neurologically,' she explained. Doctors told her most people die three to six months after diagnosis and advised her to get her affairs in order. 'I've actually been feeling good lately, and I don't feel like I'm going to die. I'm trying not to die,' she added.
Why assisted dying matters
Ms Slater, who worked in policy and campaigns, said she wants the option of assisted dying to avoid a prolonged and undignified death. 'I don't want to be unable to see, not talk, not walk, be incontinent, just stuck in bed. That's not living. I worry about the impact on my son and my partner. They will look after me for as long as they can, but there are lots of considerations... when the time comes, I want the options there and to be able to use them.'
She has already lost vision in her left eye and fears going blind. 'I am trying to adapt, but as my world gets smaller, some control and independence are crucial. Without it, I am miserable, and my will to live diminishes. Assisted dying gives the person back some choice, control and dignity. It would allow terminally ill people like me to live better as we transition from this life.'
Political background
The previous assisted dying bill passed the House of Commons but ran out of time in the House of Lords after months of delay. Supporters hope a new private members' ballot may give the bill a second chance. Among the top five MPs drawn in the ballot, three previously voted for the bill, with Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George in fourth place considered the most supportive.
Dr Richard Osborne, Medical Director at My Death, My Decision, said: 'How can anyone look Hannah in the eye and tell her no? It is not right to leave things as they are after all the hope the Assisted Dying Bill gave people when it passed in the Commons. MPs now have an opportunity to bring it back, and they should not let that pass them by.'
Recent polling shows strong public support for reform: NatCen's British Social Attitudes survey found 79% support for assisted dying for terminally ill people, while More in Common found 83% think the bill should be brought back if blocked in the Lords.
