The opinion piece by Dave Sowry, a board member of My Death, My Decision, highlights the risks of treating autonomy as an ethical principle in isolation (I accompanied my wife to Dignitas. The Lords’ filibustering is an insult to all like her who have suffered, 3 December). While it is sad that he was widowed early, he and his wife were able to travel and make choices – choices shaped principally by fear. That does not mean the law should be altered.
What his account overlooks are the thousands of patients in the UK denied genuine choice because they lack access to palliative care. The House of Lords is rightly undertaking line‑by‑line scrutiny of the proposals, and expert testimony has raised serious concerns and widespread opposition. The current law already affords dignity and protection to vulnerable, elderly and disabled people. What we lack is sufficient palliative care and hospice provision, as repeatedly shown by Hospice UK and National Audit Office reports.
