Assisted dying coercion risk greater for disabled people – Tanni Grey-Thompson

Discrimination faced by disabled people could mean they are more likely to be coerced into an assisted death if a proposed law change goes ahead, Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson has warned.

The crossbench member of the House of Lords said people had told her they would want to end their own lives if they found themselves in her position.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will “fundamentally” change disabled people’s relationship with society, Baroness Grey-Thompson also told a gathering in Westminster aimed at sharing the testimonies of people opposed to it.

Proposals to change the law are not Government legislation, but are being sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater as they make their way through the Commons.

The Bill has undergone significant changes aimed at safeguarding the proposed assisted dying service against abuse or exploitation, since it first succeeded in an initial Commons vote in November.

The High Court safeguard has been dropped and replaced by expert panels, while the implementation period has been doubled to a maximum of four years for a service to be in place should the Bill pass into law.

It is set to return for report stage on May 16 when MPs are expected to vote on further amendments.

“Low-level discrimination” against disabled people in society has “risen remarkably” in recent months amid discussion of the Government’s reforms to the welfare system, Lady Grey-Thompson told the gathering of parliamentarians and campaigners.

This fundamentally changes our relationship with society. Every disabled person who writes to me - and they do write quite a lot - is absolutely terrified about what this means for them

She suggested this was indicative of wider societal judgements about disabled people, and could influence how the law would operate in practice.

Sharing her experience after one assisted dying debate, the peer added: “Some of you will have heard me say this before, but I was in central lobby, I came out of a debate the last time we were doing this. Somebody stopped me and said, ‘If my life is like yours, I’d want to kill myself’.”

“So I’m really conscious of all these challenges that exist for disabled people,” she added.

The crossbench peer said doctors and police are already unable to “spot coercion in domestic abuse relationships”.

She asked: “So why is it they are going to suddenly be able to spot it in this? They’re not.

“This fundamentally changes our relationship with society. Every disabled person who writes to me – and they do write quite a lot – is absolutely terrified about what this means for them.”

When you are unwell, you go to the doctor... when a doctor tells you something might be a solution, you listen to them

Held in a parliamentary committee room, the meeting was called to give those opposed to the Bill, and who had not been called to speak during the scrutiny process, a chance to air their views.

Actor Liz Carr, who has also campaigned against the Bill, said she and other disabled people were terrified by the prospect it would allow doctors to raise the issue of assisted dying with terminally ill patients as a treatment option.

She said: “When you are unwell, you go to the doctor, you go to the expert, and as confident that we like to think we are, as an all-encompassing, in-control, autonomous being, when a doctor tells you something might be a solution, you listen to them.”

She said she did not believe this was an “appropriate” option, adding: “That is an abuse of power, and I believe that is a coercion.”

“The worst is that we choose it for ourselves, because there is no other option,” the campaigner later added.