Green Party Councillor welcomes the first step at Westminster to introduce Assisted Dying in England & Wales

Cllr Barry McKee said "I firmly believe that we need to change the law to bring Assisted Dying to these islands and I welcome the Choice at the End of Life Bill receiving its first reading at Parliament."

"No matter how much people suffer or how certain the terminal nature of their illness, nobody in the UK or Ireland currently has the option for a safe, compassionate and medically-assisted death on their own terms."

"We leave dying people to take matters into their own hands, with hundreds with a terminal illness estimated to take their own lives every year."

"We allow some who are of means the option to go to Switzerland, to die alone, due to the fear that anyone accompanying them might be prosecuted on their return.
And we leave others – whether because they can’t afford to go or aren't able to– to face unbearable suffering."

"But we can’t keep running away from this issue, leaving dying people and their loved ones to fend for themselves."

"I hope that MPs from Northern Ireland will be able to support a change to the law. They have a chance to input on ensuring that strict criteria and safeguards to prevent abuse or coercion are contained in any new law introduced."

Cllr McKee concluded "With bills passing through parliaments in Holyrood, Westminster and the Oireachtas the pressure will be on the Stormont Executive to ensure that residents in Northern Ireland aren’t the only ones left without autonomy and dignity in death."

ENDS