Why we urgently need to change the law on assisted dying | Letters

Readers respond to the debate and upcoming vote in parliament on assisted dying

Doctors have an important voice in the assisted dying debate, and I thank Dr Lucy Thomas for suggesting an alternative proposal for how the law should change (I see the worrying consequences of assisted dying in other countries. Britain’s bill needs a radical rethink, 2 October). Outsourcing choice at the end of life to “a new non-clinical” service is not a novel idea, indeed it was comprehensively rejected earlier this year by politicians in the Isle of Man, who voted in favour of embedding assisted dying within their healthcare system. I too cannot accept that such a radical concept would be preferable to a safe, person-centred, tried and tested model of assisted dying that 300 million people around the world already have access to.

My bill in the House of Lords will enable terminally ill, mentally competent adults to have the option of assisted dying. It has clear eligibility criteria and a set of practical measures to support assess