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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Harriet Sherwood

Woman having assisted death calls for UK law change: ‘The closer it gets, the more peaceful I feel’

Tracy Hickman, 57, seen here with her partner, Paul Qualtrough: they are standing in front of a window with light streaming through shutters in a room with white walls. He is standing behind her with his arms around her shoulders, and is wearing a grey T-shirt; she has short blond hair and is wearing a cream-coloured knitted jumper, and is holding her hands up over his. She is smiling and holding her face to the light, and they look peaceful.
Tracy Hickman, 57, pictured with her partner, Paul Qualtrough, says she is ‘at peace’ with her decision. Photograph: Lawrence Smith/Stuff NZ Ltd

A British woman who will have an assisted death next week in New Zealand where she lives has called on the UK to change its law to give seriously ill people choices about the end of their life.

Tracy Hickman, 57, who has terminal cancer, said her message to UK politicians was: “Look at what New Zealand has done, and do it even better. There is a lot of focus on the right to life, but people should have the right to a peaceful, gentle death.”

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