Emmerdale’s Faith Dingle story reflects reality for many under UK’s assisted dying ban, says Dignity in Dying

• Terminally ill Faith prepares to take her own life as the show marks its 50th anniversary next month
• Dignity in Dying was consulted on storyline, providing insight on drastic measures many are forced to resort to without option of assisted dying
• Widower of BGT star Tina Humphrey, who made same agonising decision as Faith, speaks out on need for law change across the UK, as assisted dying bills progress in Scotland, Jersey and Isle of Man 

Emmerdale’s Faith Dingle, who has less than a month to live after a diagnosis of terminal breast cancer, shared her plans to take her own life and asked for the support of her daughter-in-law Moira in Friday’s episode of the ITV soap. Faith has shared her concerns that as her cancer worsens she could be in pain, become unable to communicate, lose control and lose who she is, despite the best efforts of palliative care.

Dignity in Dying, which campaigns for a change in the law on assisted dying to allow this option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, has been working with Emmerdale on the storyline, providing research and personal testimony about the unimaginable choice Faith is contemplating – one that hundreds of terminally ill people ever year are forced to resort to under the UK’s current law.

Emmerdale researchers, producers and actors involved in the storyline also met with Steve Jetley, from Powys, Wales, whose late wife Tina Humphrey, a Britain’s Got Talent finalist in 2010 with her dancing dog Chandi, took her own life in 2017 at the age of 45 while dying of an aggressive skin cancer that had spread throughout her body.

Steve said:

“Like Faith, Tina desperately wanted to live but her cancer had taken away that choice. When it became clear that nothing more could be done, she was determined to go out her own way; to stay ‘Tina’ until the end. She had witnessed her own parents’ painful deaths from cancer and knew she wanted to take control if her suffering became unbearable.

“She planned her end carefully but it didn’t go as expected. It took her 15 long hours to die; it was agony not knowing if she was aware or in pain. It could have been so different if she’d had the proper choice she longed for.”

While end-of-life care in the UK is exemplary and helps many people to have a peaceful death, it has limits. Even if there was universal access to hospice care in the UK, it is estimated that 6,400 people a year would still die with completely unrelieved pain, in addition to those who would die with partial pain or other unbearable symptoms (more information about the limits of palliative care can be found in our report The Inescapable Truth). Up to 650 terminally ill people take their own lives every year in the UK, with up to ten times as many attempts, as revealed in our report Last Resort, in addition to the 50 Brits a year who travel to Switzerland for assisted death on average – a process which costs upwards of £10,000 (more information can be found in our report The True Cost). The Office for National Statistics estimates that people with serious and potentially terminal illnesses may be more than twice as likely to take their own lives than those without.

Dignity in Dying campaigns for greater choice, control and access to services at the end of life. It campaigns within the law to change the law, to allow assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults alongside access to high-quality end of life care. 84% of the public support the change in the law we advocate. Support is high across the country, across all ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and political views, and among those with and without religious views and those with and without disabilities.

New polling out today reveals that in the past year alone a third [34%] of women have discussed the topic of assisted dying with friends, family or colleagues, 4 in 10 [41%]people have noticed it in the news, and 4 in 10 [40%] have considered if they would want the choice if terminally ill and suffering.

Molly Pike, Media and Campaigns Officer at Dignity in Dying, said:

“Many people are able to die peacefully thanks to the excellent end-of-life care available in this country, but that is not the case for everyone. Facing the prospect of a prolonged or painful death, Faith is not alone in feeling she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands. Without a safe, legal option to die on their own terms in this country, every year hundreds of terminally ill people end their own life – a decision many feel they must keep secret in order to protect their loved ones, denying people the chance to say goodbye. Unable to seek medical advice, people are forced to resort to unsafe, untested methods, hoping that it will give them the swift, peaceful end they are seeking but with no guarantee.

“Faith’s storyline not only shines a light on the issues at the heart of the assisted dying debate, but as new polling reveals, it reflects the conversations people are already having up and down the country. With Assisted Dying Bills being considered in the Scottish, Jersey and Isle of Man parliaments and momentum growing in Westminster, this is an issue the British public are talking about and we hope Faith’s story continues to prompt much-needed debate.”

*ENDS*

For further information, photos or interview requests please contact Ellie Ball, Deputy Director of Communications, at ellie.ball@dignityindying.org.uk or 07725 433 025.

Notes to Editor

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from fieldwork carried out by Yonder Data Solutions. Total sample size was 1,826 adults (18+) in England and Wales. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10th – 12th August 2022. The survey was carried out online. Figures are from the fallout of England and Wales within the GB Nat Rep.

The polling found that:

• 41% of people have seen a story about assisted dying in the media and 29% have discussed assisted dying with family and friends, including a third [34%] of women
• 40% of people have considered whether they would want the choice of assisted dying if they were terminally ill