MSPs and campaigners were moved to hear from Dame Prue Leith and others with personal stories to share about assisted dying at a special event in the Scottish Parliament.
The Great British Bake Off judge told a well-attended gathering of the trauma of watching her brother, who had bone cancer, die a lingering and excruciatingly painful death.
Urging politicians to ignore “disgraceful scaremongering” and to support Liam McArthur’s Members’ Bill, she said the current restrictions led many people who are terminally ill to choose between suffering, suicide or Switzerland.
Our convenor Emma Cooper took to the airwaves to welcome Prue’s very helpful intervention, which drew our campaign to change the law to a wider audience.
The event, organised by our campaign allies Dignity in Dying Scotland, heard Scots-born Tina McCafferty, CEO of New Zealand’s Tо̄tara Hospice, tell MPs how assisted dying can sit alongside excellent palliative care.
And Luke Johnston-Smith, an Australian who lives in Scotland, shared his journey with terminal blood cancer, and appealed to MSPs to give him the option to die with dignity in Scotland close to people he loves – rather than have to contemplate flying 10,000 miles to Australia where assisted dying is legal.
If you’re going through a tough time, you don’t have to face it alone. You can call Samaritans free day or night on 116 123.
