A response from Sir Peter Bottomley MP:
Thank you for contacting me about assisted dying.
A terminal illness diagnosis can be devastating and distressing not only for the patient but also for their whole family. These cases are truly moving and evoke the highest degree of compassion and emotion. When the end of earthly life approaches, I give thanks to the skill and love in the hospice movement here in the UK.
The lives of the terminally ill, the frail and elderly as well as those with incurable conditions, are all of equal value to our own and put simply, each and all of us deserves equal protection under criminal law.
I attended the debate on 29 April in Westminster Hall following a petition and I raised my concerns on the matter:
“All MPs and their staff know what it is like to try to help somebody who rings up or writes and says, “I’m going to do away with myself because of the condition I am in” or because of how they feel.
We do not say, “We are in Westminster Hall debating, making it easier for you to carry that out.” We say, “Can we talk?”, “Can we pass you on to somebody else you can talk to?”
“This help might make your life different and changed.”
We must think twice before charging down a route that could lead to an increase in the number of suicides in this country by three times. If we had a Dutch level of medical assistance in death, we would add 15,000 deaths a year—we would treble the number of existing suicides and, including the existing figure, take it up to four times.“
You can read the full debate here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-04-29/debates/B3A72309-26A0-4F8F-9B48-308B063B82E5/AssistedDying
I will continue to engage in debates about assisted dying. It is vital that this subject receives the necessary time to be considered and MPs are given the time to examine all input before adjustments are made. I encourage everyone to read the reports available from all sides of the argument. Engage with all views and understand the perspectives and experiences of all involved in this heartfelt and highly personal issue. It is an important issue; one that we must get right and, therefore, should not rush.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me on such an important and personal matter.