‘It was cruel’: dying patient denied euthanasia in Catholic-run hospital

Jane Morris says her friend, who had motor neurone disease, ‘had a terrible experience and she had to seek help outside of the hospital system’ in order to die via voluntary assisted dying. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

When 60-year-old Sally* told her neurologist that she wanted to choose when to die, she was dismissed. Diagnosed with motor neurone disease, Sally knew her condition was incurable and that her rapid decline could include respiratory failure, difficulty swallowing and cognitive decline.

She wanted to die on her own terms, before her symptoms became unbearable. But Sally was receiving treatment at a Catholic palliative care hospital.