Lord Falconer’s bill is a major boost for campaigners. (Image: Tim Merry)
The Prime Minister has been urged to keep his promise on assisted dying as a Bill seeking to change the law is set to be introduced in Parliament.
In a major breakthrough for campaigners, long-time supporter Lord Falconer was drawn second in the House of Lords Private Members’ Bill ballot on Friday.
He confirmed that he would seek to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults who have fewer than six months to live.
The proposed Bill is due for its First Reading next Friday, with a Second Reading expected to follow in the autumn.
Lord Falconer of Thornton said: “The blanket ban on assisted dying is a mess and offers no compassion or protection to those at the end of their lives.
READ MORE: Esther toasts birthday she never thought she’d reach thanks to ‘miracle drugs’
Rebecca has joined the campaign in support of her mother’s wishes. (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“It leaves them to fend for themselves: either to suffer as they die despite the best efforts of medical professionals or to die lonely deaths at their own hands or in Switzerland, risking prosecution for loved ones who accompany them.
“The public has been waiting long enough for us to change the law and this Bill could at last right the harms inflicted by our outdated laws. It is urgently time for compassion and change.”
The Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade has backed calls for law change since early 2022.
A petition started by this newspaper gathered more than 200,000 signatures, triggering a parliamentary debate in April.
The groundswell of public support for assisted dying prompted both Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak to pledge that they would allow sufficient time for any Private Members’ Bill that gained traction to be fully debated and voted on.
Private Members’ Bills rarely become law and often run out of time before the parliamentary session ends.
Lord Falconer previously tried to change the law in 2014 but that Bill failed due to the impending 2015 General Election, despite passing the Second Reading in the House of Lords.
However, Sir Keir’s comments give hope that the latest attempt may be more successful. He made his promise in a phone call with Dame Esther Rantzen, 84, who helped to reignite a national debate about end of life choices after revealing her stage four lung cancer diagnosis.
The Childline Founder’s daughter warned the Prime Minister on Friday that her family will “come down on you like a tonne of bricks” if he fails to keep his vow.
Broadcaster Rebecca Wilcox, 44, said she was “really disappointed” to hear no mention of assisted dying in the King’s Speech.
She added: “I thought I had misheard and I searched the whole transcript [thinking], how does this not come in? It’s an easy win.”
Rebecca told Good Morning Britain her mum was taking a “miracle drug which seems to be working”, but warned that time was of the essence for many terminally ill people.
She said: ”We feel like we’re living in an hourglass and the sand is pouring on us, and there will come a point when our heads are no longer above it.
“We are a family of campaigners. We will come down on you like a tonne of bricks, and this is important.
“Time is running out for hundreds of people who are currently in pain, who are currently watching loved ones go through this.”
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “Assisted dying is a movement whose time has come.
“The British public has long been calling for change and Lord Falconer’s Bill could pave the way for a law that gives dying people the safe, compassionate choice they urgently want and need.
“The Prime Minister has doubled down on his promise to make time for this debate and dying people will be holding him to account; they simply do not have time to wait.
“As reform grows closer in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Scotland, we are on the brink of historic change across the British Isles.”
Mum-of-two Rebecca also spoke about the risk of prosecution if family members accompanied Dame Esther to Dignitas.
Even if they escaped prosecution, those who travel with loved ones can be subjected to a two-year police investigation.
Rebecca said: “I can’t let my mum go to her death alone. Who could? And yet I am a working mum, I can’t risk the 14 years in prison that it could be. I can’t risk the two years of investigation.
“I also have a really important work that I do with Childline, which has a very involved DBS [criminal record check]. I don’t think they’d let me do that if I was under investigation for matricide.”
Urging members of the public to help grant lifelong campaigner Dame Esther’s final wish, Rebecca added: “Can we please make this possible for her?
“This is her last great wish, for her own sake and for everybody else going through this. Can everybody please write to their MP and say, ‘let’s call for a free vote, let’s get this passed’.
“The legislation is there, it will protect the vulnerable. We know how to do this. I find it very difficult to talk about this and not get wound up because I don’t want her to go through a painful death.
“I don’t want my memories of her to completely be dissolved by pain and agony in those last few days.
“So write to your MP, ask them for a free vote. Let’s get a really kind law passed that gives people choice.”