To: Oliver Ryan MP, Member of Parliament for Burnley

We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon our Member of Parliament, Oliver Ryan MP, to vote AGAINST the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when it is considered in Parliament.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill proposes to create a legal framework allowing certain terminally ill adults in England and Wales to request assistance to end their own lives, subject to the safeguards contained within the proposed legislation.

We recognise that this is a deeply sensitive, complex and important issue. We understand that people will hold different views and that this debate must be approached with compassion, dignity and respect for those facing terminal illness and their families.

However, we, the undersigned, have serious concerns about the potential consequences of this Bill and believe that the risks to vulnerable people are too great.

OUR CONCERNS

1. Protecting vulnerable people from pressure and coercion

We are concerned that people who are elderly, disabled, seriously ill or approaching the end of their lives could feel pressure, whether directly or indirectly, to end their lives.

Pressure does not always take the form of an explicit threat. A person may feel that they are a burden on their family, carers or loved ones. They may have concerns about finances, care arrangements, loneliness or the impact of their illness upon those around them.

We are concerned about whether any legal process can always reliably identify subtle pressure, coercion or a person's feeling that they have become a burden.

2. Concerns about the adequacy of safeguards

We believe that safeguards must be capable of protecting every vulnerable person.

We have concerns about how mental capacity and a genuinely voluntary decision can be reliably established in every individual case, particularly where a person may be experiencing fear, emotional distress, family pressure or other difficult circumstances.

We are also concerned that safeguards introduced at the beginning of any legislation could potentially be changed or weakened in the future.

The consequences of an error in such decisions would be irreversible.

3. The need to improve palliative and end-of-life care

We believe that every person facing a terminal illness should have access to high-quality, compassionate palliative and end-of-life care.

Before Parliament introduces legislation allowing assistance to end a person's life, we believe greater priority should be given to ensuring that people have access to the best possible medical care, pain management, hospice support, mental health support and practical assistance.

No person should ever feel that ending their life is their only option because they cannot access the care and support they need.

4. Concerns about people feeling that they are a burden

We are particularly concerned about the impact that this legislation could have on people who already feel dependent upon others.

Elderly, disabled and seriously ill people must be given a clear message that their lives have equal value and that they are not a burden to their families, society or the health and care system.

We believe that society should respond to vulnerability with greater care, support and compassion—not with the possibility that a person may come to feel that ending their life is expected of them.

5. The ethical and irreversible nature of the decision

This Bill concerns decisions of the utmost seriousness and permanence.

We believe Parliament must apply the highest possible level of caution when considering legislation that would allow assistance in ending a person's life.

Once a person's life has ended, any mistake, misunderstanding, missed evidence of coercion or incorrect assessment cannot be reversed.

OUR REQUEST TO OLIVER RYAN MP

We respectfully ask Oliver Ryan MP to:

1. Listen carefully to the concerns of his constituents and members of the wider Burnley community.

2. Consider the potential risks that this Bill may create for vulnerable, elderly, disabled and seriously ill people.

3. Support greater investment in high-quality palliative and end-of-life care so that nobody feels that ending their life is their only option.

4. Vote AGAINST the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

We respectfully ask our Member of Parliament to represent the concerns of those constituents who believe that the protection of vulnerable people must remain the highest priority.

We believe that every person deserves dignity, compassion, care and support until the natural end of their life.