Soap’s assisted dying plot is all too real for me, says campaigner
EMMERDALE will encourage soap fans to consider the complex issue of assisted dying this week with a heartrending storyline.
A recent episode of the ITV drama saw Faith Dingle, played by Sally Dexter, ask her daughter-in-law Moira to help end her suffering from terminal cancer.
The character expressed fears that as her condition worsens she will be left in pain and lose control of who she is, despite the best palliative care.
Emotional scenes this week will see Faith decide to end her life by herself, hiding her plan from loved ones so they are not implicated.
The tragic plotline is all too real for campaigning Adam Wellesley, whose mum Vicky went through a similar experience.
He said: “Losing my mum was painful enough but knowing that she had to sneak around to do it was just horrible.”
Vicky began suffering from neck and back ache in 2017, some 17 years after she had been treated for breast cancer.
Doctors allegedly failed to recognise the link and she was given painkillers. Months later, an MRI revealed the cancer was in her bones and at the advanced stage four.
Adam, 55, said Vicky immediately informed him and his sister Kate she did not want to die in pain and would “sort myself out” if suffering.
But he started to plan to takeVicky to Dignitas in Switzerland to stop her taking matters into her own hands. In 2018, her condition deteriorated and she moved in with Kate, 53, a nurse living in St Albans, Herts
Vicky took an overdose of her medication and died, aged 83. The siblings were investigated by police. Adam was questioned on suspicion of assisting a suicide while Kate faced a murder probe.The cases were dropped, and Adam was told it would not be in the public interest to proceed. He said it is “fantastic” to have Emmerdale highlighting the plight of terminally ill people. Adam added: “Lots of countries have assisted dying now. I’m fighting for British people in Britain to have the choice.
“I want to get it in this country so that you can do that with a doctor at your own house with your family around you. “The fact mum had to sneak off and do that because she was worried about dying in pain is disgusting. You can take an animal to a vet but you can’t help your parents or loved ones.” The Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade wants assisted dying to be legalised for adults who are of sound mind and terminally ill with less than six months to live.