I can confirm that Wendy Duffy, at her own request, was assisted to die on 24 April and that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes. Neither we nor any of the professional staff assessing her mental capacity had any doubt as to her intention, understanding and independence of both thought and action.
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said a handful of peers, whom she described as implacable opponents of assisted dying, had dominated debates in the Lords and rained down amendments in order to talk out the bill. It's absolutely shameless what a tiny group, less than 1% of the unelected, the upper house, has done, she added. Their role is to scrutinise, not to block.
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Peers are at the committee stage, which is a line-by-line review where amendments they put down are debated and voted on. In the Commons, the speaker selects amendments for debate and vote. That is not the case in the Lords, where the committee stage requires members to debate each amendment group by group, so it can take a long time over limited sitting days.
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The former justice secretary Lord Charlie Falconer, who is the sponsor of the Bill in the Lords, branded the current legal situation "confused", causing "terrible suffering" and lacking "compassion and safeguards". Lord Falconer reassured peers there would be "more than enough time" for scrutiny before the current Parliamentary session neded next spring and that he was "very open" to suggestions for how the Bill could be "further strengthened and improved".
Hospices are on the brink and two in five are making cuts this year despite the importance of end-of-life care if assisted dying becomes legal, the sector has warned before the first House of Lords debate on the legislation. Hospice UK, which represents the sector, said many were financially struggling and still in the dark about how funding for end-of-life care will be improved when assisted dying legislation is passed.
Denis's father, a laboratory technician in rural eastern France with terminal cancer, chose to end his life through illegal, clandestine euthanasia in 2008 I was plunged into grief while having to keep the secret about how he died, Denis said. Now he leads the campaign for assisted dying and palliative care, as president of the Association for the Right to Rie with dignity.
"I've let my body down. I haven't taken care of it. I have to walk with a walker now. I wish I'd done exercise. It's the most ghastly waste of time, except that it keeps you going. So, I'm foolish."
Megan Royal expressed profound sadness and disbelief upon learning about her mother's death through a WhatsApp message, describing the pain of receiving her mother's ashes by post.
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