“Far too many people do not have access to the palliative care they need, but the idea that it is not possible to alleviate pain and discomfort is false. People have been terrorised — I have been terrorised — with tales of people vomiting up their own feces, as though this is commonplace during death. It is vanishingly rare.

It is nothing short of irresponsible to scaremonger people like me into believing our deaths will be horrific when all the evidence suggests that, with access to good palliative care, deaths are, on the whole, gentle.”

... the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Children’s Commissioner, the former Chief Coroner, the British Association of Social Workers, the British Geriatrics Society, Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Age UK, the Association for Palliative Medicine, the Mental Health and Disability Law Committee, a coalition of over 350 disability organisations including Disability Rights UK, Not Dead Yet UK and Disabled People Against Cuts, Care England, Mind charity, the National Down Syndrome Policy Group, the Chair in Palliative Care at King’s College London, a Professor of Law and Medical Ethics at Oxford University, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, the House of Lords’ Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, the Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire, more than 1,000 doctors and overseas experts. 

This is a remarkable victory for the most vulnerable in our society. They deserve protection and care, not a pathway to suicide.

After a two-year-long national debate, the country has decided to reject assisted suicide, settling the issue for a generation.

Evidence from overseas shows that, had this legislation become law, countless vulnerable people nearing the end of life would have been pressured or coerced into ending their lives.

MPs’ decision follows that of the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, which also decisively rejected assisted suicide in a landmark vote.

In both Westminster and Holyrood, parliamentary scrutiny and expert testimony have shown that assisted suicide simply cannot be legalised in a safe way that protects vulnerable people. As is tragically evident elsewhere, many vulnerable people die under assisted suicide and euthanasia laws.

But as this debate ends, the real fight has only just begun.

It is vital that MPs now unite to give full attention to fixing the fundamental issues with health and end-of-life care provision, focusing on the goal of delivering universal access to high-quality palliative care, ensuring true dignity and care for all at the end of life....

“Far too many people do not have access to the palliative care they need, but the idea that it is not possible to alleviate pain and discomfort is false. People have been terrorised — I have been terrorised — with tales of people vomiting up their own feces, as though this is commonplace during death. It is vanishingly rare.

It is nothing short of irresponsible to scaremonger people like me into believing our deaths will be horrific when all the evidence suggests that, with access to good palliative care, deaths are, on the whole, gentle.”

... the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Pathologists, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Children’s Commissioner, the former Chief Coroner, the British Association of Social Workers, the British Geriatrics Society, Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Age UK, the Association for Palliative Medicine, the Mental Health and Disability Law Committee, a coalition of over 350 disability organisations including Disability Rights UK, Not Dead Yet UK and Disabled People Against Cuts, Care England, Mind charity, the National Down Syndrome Policy Group, the Chair in Palliative Care at King’s College London, a Professor of Law and Medical Ethics at Oxford University, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, the House of Lords’ Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, the Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire, more than 1,000 doctors and overseas experts. 

This is a remarkable victory for the most vulnerable in our society. They deserve protection and care, not a pathway to suicide.

After a two-year-long national debate, the country has decided to reject assisted suicide, settling the issue for a generation.

Evidence from overseas shows that, had this legislation become law, countless vulnerable people nearing the end of life would have been pressured or coerced into ending their lives.

MPs’ decision follows that of the Scottish Parliament earlier this year, which also decisively rejected assisted suicide in a landmark vote.

In both Westminster and Holyrood, parliamentary scrutiny and expert testimony have shown that assisted suicide simply cannot be legalised in a safe way that protects vulnerable people. As is tragically evident elsewhere, many vulnerable people die under assisted suicide and euthanasia laws.

But as this debate ends, the real fight has only just begun.

It is vital that MPs now unite to give full attention to fixing the fundamental issues with health and end-of-life care provision, focusing on the goal of delivering universal access to high-quality palliative care, ensuring true dignity and care for all at the end of life....