'Dad would be absolutely fuming' says daughter of right-to-die campaigner

Right-to-die campaigner Tony Nicklinson would be “absolutely fuming” that more progress has not been made in the past 12 years on legalising assisted dying, his daughter said.

Lauren Peters, who was 25, when her father died after his case was rejected by the High Court in 2012, was speaking ahead of a new Bill on the subject being introduced in Parliament this week. Mr Nicklinson, who was paralysed and unable to speak after a stroke, was described by his family as experiencing "the closest thing you’ll ever get to being buried alive".

Now 37, Ms Peters, living in Bristol and a mum-of-two, feels a duty to continue sharing her dad's story to support others in similar situations. She said: "If dad was still around today and, you know, he was able to witness all of this, I think he’d be absolutely fuming, quite honestly."

"And I think he’d find it intensely frustrating because it just doesn’t go far enough. How much more suffering does there need to be for people to sit up and realise that there is a need for this, there is public support for this?"

While details of the upcoming Bill are unspecified, concerns have been voiced by some campaigners that it may only apply to those with terminal illnesses. Ms Peters is one of the signatories on a letter sent by campaign group My Death, My Decision calling on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater – who is bringing the private member’s bill to the Commons on Wednesday – to include those “suffering unbearably” in any legislation.

The etter says: "We urge that any law should not be limited to those with six months or fewer to live. It should include adults of sound mind who are suffering unbearably from an incurable physical condition and have a clear, settled wish to die."

Ms Peters said there is a necessity for rigorous regulation within any endorsed system but remained adamant about providing individuals with choice. She said: "I like to think there are people in this country intelligent enough to devise a system to support people like dad whilst protecting those who need protecting. It works in other countries. It can work here."

Discussing her father's posthumous reaction to the current state of affairs she noted: "Yeah, dad would be livid (at the lack of progress), absolutely livid, and he’d make sure everyone knew about it as well." She labelled any legislature turning a blind eye to the plight of those "suffering unbearably" as a "missed opportunity" and challenged MPs ahead of the anticipated November 29 debate and vote to "think broadly and think bravely on the issue".

She urged: "Don’t just go ‘it’s too difficult, we can’t do it’. Really think about it, speak to constituents, do your research, read my dad’s story, read the story of those people with terminal illnesses who have suffered beyond belief. Don’t just sit there and go, ‘but palliative care will sort it’. It doesn’t always."

"I think it’s very easy when you haven’t truly experienced intense suffering, like my dad did, or even watched it, to think ‘it can’t really have been that bad’. I assure you it was really that bad, life can be that bad. So why not do what we can compassionately to support those people who might need it.

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"Because they (MPs) might need it themselves one day, it might be their parents or their friends or their children who might experience that immense, incurable suffering. So I would encourage them to think broadly and think bravely on the issue."

A spokesperson for Ms Leadbeater commented that the MP had been contacted by a "wide range of organisations as well as people with their own experience of how cruel and unjust the current situation is".

The spokesperson added: "There are so many deeply upsetting stories of people like Tony Nicklinson who have been let down cruelly by the law as it stands and forced to take matters into their own hands because they were denied the good death they so desperately wanted.

“She will take all views into account while drafting her legislation but believes strongly that the voices of those directly affected are the most powerful and must be heard loud and clear before MPs come to their decision.”

If the bill, whose formal title will be announced on Wednesday, is passed at the end of November, it will proceed to the committee stage where MPs can propose amendments, followed by further scrutiny and votes in both the and the House of Lords. Critics of the law change argue that some individuals may feel coerced into assisted dying against their will and advocate for greater emphasis on enhancing and ensuring equal access to palliative care.

The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has encouraged Catholics to contact their MPs to oppose the proposed changes, warning that legalising assisted dying could lead to those nearing death feeling pressured to end their lives to alleviate family members of a "perceived burden of care", to avoid pain, or "for the sake of inheritance".