Former nurse’s assisted dying plea
A FORMER nurse is launching a new campaign to call for the legalisation of assisted dying in Britain, following her personal experience of the suffering people can go through.
Ann Taylor (67) is calling for a change in the law to allow terminally ill people to die with dignity.
She has set up a group to spearhead the campaign and is inviting people to attend its first meeting tonight (Wednesday, February 20) at 6.30pm for a 6.45pm start on Charnwood Ward at Loughborough Hospital, off Epinal Way.
Leicestershire is the latest group to join a network of 42 across the country which supports Dignity in Dying, campaigning for a change in the law to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults the option of an assist- ed death. Ann, from Rothley, said: “I was a community nurse in Nottingham and Leicester for many years and currently volunteer for CRUSE bereavement care. I have supported many patients at the end of their life and it often seemed that people were suffering pointlessly while waiting for the inevitable.
“I sometimes wished I could have done more to ease their suffering, not only for the patients but also their relatives.
“I stopped nursing three years ago, but you ask any nurse and they’ll tell you they can’t stop caring. That’s why, having been a member of Dignity in Dying for a few years, I grasped the chance to set up this new group with both hands.
“I would encourage anyone to come along to our first meeting to hear more about the campaign and how we can support it locally.”
I sometimes wished I could have done more to ease their suffering, not only for the patients but also their relatives
The launch of the Leicestershire group comes as renewed calls are made for a change in the law. Earlier this month, Geoffrey Whaley, an 80-year-old man with terminal motor neurone disease, used his final days to urge MPs to legalise assisted dying in the UK.
Mr Whaley died on February 7 at the Dignitas facility in Switzerland, surrounded by his family.
Famous UK author Sir Terry Pratchett, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was a patron of Dignity in Dying. He passed away in 2015.
Francesca Hall, campaigns and outreach officer at Dignity in Dying, said: “We believe that terminally ill people in Leicestershire and beyond should be able to die on their own terms, peacefully, at a time and place of their choosing - but right now, they can’t. People are taking drastic measures at home and abroad because the law denies them true choice and control over their death.
“If you agree that this is unacceptable, please join us and come along to our first local meeting on February 20 to find out more about our campaign and how you and your community can be part of it.”