Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson has campaigned against the assisted dying bill.
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A change in assisted dying laws could mean disabled people are more likely to be pressured into ending their own lives because of the “ableist attitudes” they face in society, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has told City News.
The 11-time Olympic champion warned the proposed legislation does not have adequate safeguards against coercion and could be changed in future to widen its scope.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow those with fewer than six months left to live to apply for an assisted death. It would only apply in England and Wales.
After a historic vote from MPs in November, the bill returns to the House of Commons on Friday. But changes have been made, including to who would approve the decision: a panel of experts instead of a High Court judge would be the final safeguard.
The MP who introduced the bill, Kim Leadbeater, said it “goes further than any other around the world in its safeguards, oversight and regulation”.
Pro-assisted dying campaigners gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Thursday. (CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Choice over life and death
Supporters of the bill argue that it will give terminally ill adults a choice about how they die, particularly if they are in pain.
But the crossbench peer questioned how much choice disabled people would have assisted dying were to become law, because of the discrimination they face.
“We’ve seen benefit cuts, 800,000 disabled people could lose Personal Independence Payments, stopping care worker visas. Where are those care workers going to come from? If you can find nobody to change your incontinence product or to help you eat, you could very well think [assisted dying] is your only option, and that’s not choice.”
Ms Leadbeater suggested in November that fear of being a burden is a “legitimate reason” to ask for an assisted death.
Tanni-Grey Thompson has won 11 gold medals for Great Britain at the Paralympic Games. (Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Baroness Grey-Thompson believes that disabled people would still be eligible under the six-month safeguard, pointing to the example of an unhealed pressure sore that would count as a terminal diagnosis. She also has concerns about those with eating disorders, with some doctors in the UK using the term ‘terminal anorexia’.
“Disabled people are discriminated in every single part of their lives: housing, employment, healthcare, education, transport – I still can’t get on a train on my own. What’s to say that if this bill passes, it’ll be totally different, and they won’t face the same ableist attitudes?”
Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson
She also raised concerns about how coercive partners could pressure their spouses into an assisted death, plus if doctors and police could spot manipulation.
‘A price has now been put on lives’
Asked if she had a message for the Prime Minister, Baroness Grey-Thompson said “Why now? This is not a way to save money, to protect the NHS. Some doctors will be making monetary decisions.”
An amendment has been proposed which would comission a report into the state of paliative care. (Credit: ADOBE STOCK)
“The cost of some of the surgery I’ve had would be pretty expensive. And I could see a time when people could say, done in a really lovely way, ‘do you want to protect the NHS for your grandchildren?’ That’s quite a dystopian future to me.”
Some paliative care doctors have raised concerns about the impact it will have on their patients.
Although the bill is not government policy, Sir Keir Starmer voted in favour of it in November. When speaking to journalists on Thursday, he indicated it still has his support.
Speaking about some of the arguments made by supporters of the bill that the current situation is not compassionate, she said “I absolutely do not want people to die in pain. I’ve watched my parents die. What I want is people to have a peaceful death through palliative care and the right support, not feel coerced or pushed.”
The bill’s supporters have often rejected international comparisons, instead encouraging people to instead judge it as it is written.
But Baroness Grey-Thompson argued that the legislation has been changed in the areas where assisted dying has been legalised, and it could happen in the UK.
Campaigners both for and against assisted dying are expected to gather outside Parliament on Friday. (Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Back in the Commons
The legislation returns to the House of Commons for MPs to debate the dozens of amendments that have been added since it was last voted on.
MPs voted 330 to 275 in favour of progressing the legislation.
However, London MPs did not follow this pattern. Only 29 voted yes, with 44 voting no. Two did not vote.
It is unlikely there will be a final vote on the bill on Friday.
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HeadlineDisabled people at risk of assisted dying coercion, warns Tanni-Grey Thompson
Short HeadlineGrey-Thompson: disabled people at risk of assisted dying coercion
StandfirstParalympic Champion tells City News that ‘a price has been put on lives’ amid cuts to welfare and care visas, as MPs debate legislation.
A change in assisted dying laws could mean disabled people are more likely to be pressured into ending their own lives because of the “ableist attitudes” they face in society, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has told City News.
The 11-time Olympic champion warned the proposed legislation does not have adequate safeguards against coercion and could be changed in future to widen its scope.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow those with fewer than six months left to live to apply for an assisted death. It would only apply in England and Wales.
After a historic vote from MPs in November, the bill returns to the House of Commons on Friday. But changes have been made, including to who would approve the decision: a panel of experts instead of a High Court judge would be the final safeguard.
The MP who introduced the bill, Kim Leadbeater, said it “goes further than any other around the world in its safeguards, oversight and regulation”.
Pro-assisted dying campaigners gathered outside the Houses of Parliament on Thursday. (CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Choice over life and death
Supporters of the bill argue that it will give terminally ill adults a choice about how they die, particularly if they are in pain.
But the crossbench peer questioned how much choice disabled people would have assisted dying were to become law, because of the discrimination they face.
“We’ve seen benefit cuts, 800,000 disabled people could lose Personal Independence Payments, stopping care worker visas. Where are those care workers going to come from? If you can find nobody to change your incontinence product or to help you eat, you could very well think [assisted dying] is your only option, and that’s not choice.”
Ms Leadbeater suggested in November that fear of being a burden is a “legitimate reason” to ask for an assisted death.
Tanni-Grey Thompson has won 11 gold medals for Great Britain at the Paralympic Games. (Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Baroness Grey-Thompson believes that disabled people would still be eligible under the six-month safeguard, pointing to the example of an unhealed pressure sore that would count as a terminal diagnosis. She also has concerns about those with eating disorders, with some doctors in the UK using the term ‘terminal anorexia’.
“Disabled people are discriminated in every single part of their lives: housing, employment, healthcare, education, transport – I still can’t get on a train on my own. What’s to say that if this bill passes, it’ll be totally different, and they won’t face the same ableist attitudes?”
Baroness Tanni-Grey Thompson
She also raised concerns about how coercive partners could pressure their spouses into an assisted death, plus if doctors and police could spot manipulation.
‘A price has now been put on lives’
Asked if she had a message for the Prime Minister, Baroness Grey-Thompson said “Why now? This is not a way to save money, to protect the NHS. Some doctors will be making monetary decisions.”
An amendment has been proposed which would comission a report into the state of paliative care. (Credit: ADOBE STOCK)
“The cost of some of the surgery I’ve had would be pretty expensive. And I could see a time when people could say, done in a really lovely way, ‘do you want to protect the NHS for your grandchildren?’ That’s quite a dystopian future to me.”
Some paliative care doctors have raised concerns about the impact it will have on their patients.
Although the bill is not government policy, Sir Keir Starmer voted in favour of it in November. When speaking to journalists on Thursday, he indicated it still has his support.
Speaking about some of the arguments made by supporters of the bill that the current situation is not compassionate, she said “I absolutely do not want people to die in pain. I’ve watched my parents die. What I want is people to have a peaceful death through palliative care and the right support, not feel coerced or pushed.”
The bill’s supporters have often rejected international comparisons, instead encouraging people to instead judge it as it is written.
But Baroness Grey-Thompson argued that the legislation has been changed in the areas where assisted dying has been legalised, and it could happen in the UK.
Campaigners both for and against assisted dying are expected to gather outside Parliament on Friday. (Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Back in the Commons
The legislation returns to the House of Commons for MPs to debate the dozens of amendments that have been added since it was last voted on.
MPs voted 330 to 275 in favour of progressing the legislation.
However, London MPs did not follow this pattern. Only 29 voted yes, with 44 voting no. Two did not vote.
It is unlikely there will be a final vote on the bill on Friday.
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