Terminally ill allowed to break travel ban for assisted dying

PEOPLE can break lockdown in order to travel abroad for assisted dying, Matt Hancock has confirmed.

The Health and Social Care Secretary said flying to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland would be considered a “reasonable excuse” under the travel ban. It follows an outcry over the case of a former NHS worker with terminal breast cancer who was forced to bring forward plans for her suicide at the Zurich facility due to fears the new lockdown rules would prevent her from travelling.

The 45-year-old said she felt driven to “go now, before I am truly ready”.

The Covid regulations for England state that people may not travel abroad, unless for work, education “or other legally permitted reasons”.

Responding to an urgent question in Parliament yesterday, Mr Hancock said: “Travelling abroad for the purpose of assisted dying is a reasonable excuse and so anyone doing so would not be breaking the law.”

He added: “The question of how we best support people in their choices at the end of their life is a complex moral issue that, when considered, weighs heavily upon us all.”

Andrew Mitchell, the former cabinet minister who tabled the question, said the new lockdown may still deter people from travelling for assisted suicide.

In 2015, an assisted dying bill was defeated by 330 votes to 118 in the House of Commons. Campaigners for the measure have been buoyed by New Zealand’s decision last month to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people with less than six months to live.

Last year, the Royal College of Physicians dropped its long-standing opposition to assisted dying, moving to a position of neutrality.

The British Medical Association, which represents all UK doctors, still formally opposes physician-assisted dying, arguing that “ongoing improvements to palliative care allows patients to die with dignity”.

Mr Hancock rebuffed calls for a government-led review of the current legislation. He said the Government was “neutral” on the matter and that any attempt to change the law must come from Parliament.