Next week, the House of Lords will debate Baroness Meacher’s Assisted Dying Bill. It is, in fact, an Assisted Suicide Bill.
“Assisted dying” attempts to make us believe it is for the terminally ill in their last days. Many disabled people would disagree. They will be anxiously listening to the arguments about assisted suicide, which would be offered by doctors to people just like them.
Supporters of the Bill claim it only removes the legal safeguards against suicide for those with a terminal illness, but it is wide enough to include those like me who live with a progressive disability which can suddenly deteriorate. Our condition is often considered terminal because of the all-pervasive stereotype of disabled people “suffering”.
