Terminally ill people urge MPs to revive assisted dying bill 

In a powerful new film by Rankin for Dignity in Dying – delivered pro bono – the group warn they could still be forced to suffer in pain against their wishes because of a handful of unelected peers who thwarted democracy, and wilfully ignored the will of the public and the Commons

The film reminds MPs they voted overwhelmingly to back the assisted dying bill at its historic Third Reading debate almost a year ago – and challenges them not to let that promise unravel.

Direct-to-camera, the group tell MPs:

You started something. You made a promise. And an unelected few tried to break that promise for you. Don’t let them.

This second video in the Time to Back the Bill Again campaign launches today as Westminster attention turns once again to the future of assisted dying legislation, urging MPs at the top of the Ballot to finish what they started and back the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill again. There are already strong signs of parliamentary appetite to finish the job, with more than 150 MPs writing to the PM to ensure that Parliament has the opportunity to reach a final decision on the Bill, alongside calls from more than 200 peers for the Commons to have another opportunity to vote. 

The video features: Noah Herniman (19) from Chepstow, Wales who is living with an inoperable brain tumour, Jenny Carruthers (58) from Bath who has incurable breast cancer, Elise Burns (52) from Faversham who has secondary breast cancer which has spread to her lungs, liver and bones, Barbara Shooter (69) from North Oxon who has Motor Neurone Disease, Keith Williams (77) from South Wales who has terminal lung disease, Sophie Blake (53) from Brighton who has secondary breast cancer, and Maddie Cowey (28) from London who has incurable alveolar soft part sarcoma.  

ENDS

For more information/requests please contact Georgina O’Reilly, Media and Campaigns Manager at georgina.oreilly@dignityindying.org.uk or 07768438258.