As assisted dying bill returns to Commons, families recall loved ones’ battle to ‘go out on own terms’

Sarah and Sheila Burns, sister and mother of Elise Burns, who died on 22 July 2026. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

The feeling, said Sarah Burns of her sister’s last days, is one of overwhelming guilt.

“You feel really guilty, and helpless,” she says. “Because we knew what she wanted. We really did know. But we couldn’t do anything.”