[Updated 29th November 2024 – 3pm]
Today MPs voted in favour of the Assisted Dying Bill.
Our Chief Executive Officer Lynne Turnbull, responded with the following statement.
“We will continue to work in the interests of disabled people as this bill develops and will stand against any changes that widen the criteria for an assisted death, both now and in future.”
Original Statement
A proposed law to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales has been published this week. It will be debated and voted on in parliament on 29th November 2024.
Disability Positive does not support any legislation that enables assisted dying. Whilst we understand that these laws may seem reasonable from the perspective of a terminally ill person, it is important to look across society and consider the impact such legislation could have, and who it stands to harm.
It is clear from the experience of other countries that the conditions and criteria for eligibility in an assisted dying schemes become wider quickly, to include many disabled people.
We maintain that the lives of people with lived experience of disability and long-term health conditions must be protected, both from being eligible for such schemes, and from the public perception that our lives do not matter. People must be given the choice and control to live well, including with access to high quality palliative care, throughout, as well as at the end of their lives.
For media enquiries or more information, please email communications@disabilitypositive.org
