Jackie Baker has an assisted death in Switzerland

In response to this morning’s news about Jackie Baker.

Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:

“This case is yet another moving story of the lengths people go to simply to secure for themselves the means to control their own deaths. Incredibly, those who do not want to see a change in the law would rather we ignore people like Jackie Baker, who have to take desperate measures to have the deaths that they want. Indeed, in this case opponents of assisted dying called the police on Jackie Baker’s family for trying to raise the money for her trip.

“In voting against the Assisted Dying Bill in September MPs may have wanted the problem to go away but it hasn’t. People are still dying of terminal illnesses, still want to control their own deaths and still have to travel thousands of miles and pay thousands of pounds to do so. Ms Baker is the 305th person from the UK to travel to Dignitas, while around the same number of terminally ill people take their own lives at home every year.

“Recently we have seen opponents accusing people like Ms Baker of being “celebrity seeking” when instead they are simply reminding us all that the current law has failed them. We call on everyone to respect the grieving family at this time and to understand that terminally ill people who want a change in the law do not want to die, they simply want the right to choose the timing and safe manner of their death here at home.”

***ENDS***

For all media enquiries please contact michael.charouneau@dignityindying.org.uk / 0207 479 7732 / 07725 433 025

Dignity in Dying
Dignity in Dying campaigns for greater choice, control and access to services at the end of life. It advocates providing terminally ill adults with the option of an assisted death, within strict legal safeguards, and for universal access to high quality end-of-life care.