Latest news with #TerminallyIllAdults(EndofLife)Bill
STV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- STV News
Dame Joanna Lumley has thrown her support behind the assisted dying Bill
Actress Dame Joanna Lumley has said she 'wouldn't mind' undergoing assisted dying if she reached a 'miserable' state where she was unable to talk or eat without help. The 79-year-old said she supported the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was backed by MPs in the Commons last month, that would allow terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Asked about the Bill in an interview with Saga Magazine, Dame Joanna said: 'People are terribly anxious about it and think one may be coerced (into voluntary euthanasia). 'But I'm saying this now when nobody's coercing me, don't let me turn into somebody who doesn't recognise the people I love most, where I'm having a miserable time. PA Media 'When I get to the stage where I can't speak and have to be fed, that won't be me any more and that's when I wouldn't mind saying farewell.' The Bill would see those wishing to go through assisted dying require approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. It will next come before the House of Lords for further debate and votes. One of the Bill's most high-profile backers has been TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, 85, who has terminal cancer, and recently urged members of the House of Lords not to block the legislation. Dame Joanna is best known for her roles as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, Sapphire in ITV supernatural series Sapphire And Steel, and in The New Avengers, the 1970s revamped version of 1960s ITV spy series The Avengers. She will appear in season two of Netflix supernatural series Wednesday as Grandmama in August. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Lumley favours assisted dying in certain circumstances
Veteran actress Joanna Lumley has said she "wouldn't mind" undergoing assisted dying if she was in a situation where she was unable to talk or eat without assistance. The 79-year-old said she supported the UK's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which was backed by British MPs in the Commons last month, that would allow terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Asked about the Bill in an interview with Saga Magazine, she said: "People are terribly anxious about it and think one may be coerced (into voluntary euthanasia). "But I'm saying this now when nobody's coercing me, don't let me turn into somebody who doesn't recognise the people I love most, where I'm having a miserable time. "When I get to the stage where I can't speak and have to be fed, that won't be me any more and that's when I wouldn't mind saying farewell." The Bill would see those wishing to go through assisted dying require approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. It will next come before the House of Lords for further debate and votes. One of the Bill's most high-profile backers has been TV presenter Esther Rantzen, 85, who has terminal cancer, and recently urged members of the British House of Lords not to block the legislation. Joanna Lumley is best known for her roles as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, Sapphire in ITV supernatural series Sapphire And Steel, and in The New Avengers, the 1970s revamped version of 1960s ITV spy series The Avengers. She will appear in season two of Netflix supernatural series Wednesday as Grandmama in August.
ITV News
16-07-2025
- Health
- ITV News
Welsh NHS could refuse to offer assisted dying services, Health Secretary confirms
The Health Secretary has confirmed that the Welsh NHS could refuse to offer assisted dying services even if they were to be introduced in Miles said that Senedd members will have the power to block the implementation of the law change although he acknowledged that private sector health providers could offer such a service here in to change the law to legalise assisted dying in Wales and England were agreed in the House of Commons in June which voted to pass the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by 314 to 291. Of Wales' 32 MPs, 24 backed the bill, seven voted against and one did not proposed law-change will next be debated in the House of is devolved, so the implementation of any assisted dying service would be carried out through the Welsh NHS which is controlled by the Welsh Government and ultimately answerable to the Senedd itself. In a vote last October on the principle of assisted dying, Senedd members including the First Minister and Health Secretary voted against it, which means there is every chance that MSs could vote to block in turn raises the prospect of assisted dying being legalised here in Wales but Welsh doctors prohibited from providing the Secretary Jeremy Miles has been giving evidence to the Senedd's Health Committee which has been trying to gain some clarity about the Miles told the committee that the Welsh Government has taken a neutral position on the confirmed that Senedd Members do not have the power to block the change to the law itself, but could refuse to introduce regulations which would allow the NHS to offer assisted dying services. The cabinet secretary said: 'In order for those regulations to be laid, which would be necessary in order for, for example, the NHS to provide this service in Wales, then a Welsh Government…would need to make a policy decision to be open to introducing the service, then to lay the regulations and for the Senedd to approve those.'So that's in relation to services provided in the public sector…by the NHS, because that's within devolved competence.'But he added that private sector health services here could introduce an assisted dying service, even if there was not one provided by the Welsh said: 'Obviously the bill operates by way of amendment the suicide act. So there would be options in England and Wales for services to be provided other than in the public sector, as it is in other parts of the world, obviously.'He was pressed by the committee's chair, Peter Fox, for 'further clarity on regulations". He was asked: "If they are not made by Welsh Government and consequently approved by the Senedd, the NHS in Wales will not be able to provide assisted dying services.?'Mr Miles replied: 'That is correct.' Committee members raised concerns about confusion if different regulations and services were to be offered within Wales and across the border in England. Mr Miles said: "I accept, as is quite often said, that if you live on the border, perhaps there's more uncertainty. But as you say, we have been through a period [the Covid pandemic] when the law was clear and different on either side of the border, ways of implementing that are effective."
South Wales Argus
11-07-2025
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Authority over death belongs to God alone, Church of England leader warns
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell praised a colleague and member of the House of Lords for her 'principled and persistent opposition' to proposed legislation being considered at Westminster. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cleared the House of Commons last month in a historic vote, bringing assisted dying closer to becoming law in England and Wales. It has now moved to the House of Lords where it will undergo further debate and scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the June vote, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, who sits in the House of Lords, said peers 'must oppose' the Bill when it reaches them due to the 'mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe'. She is among those opposed who have called for more work to improve funding and access to 'desperately needed' palliative care services instead. Bishop of London Sarah Mullally said peers 'must oppose' the Bill when it reaches them (PA) Addressing the Church of England General Synod – also known as the Church's parliament – on Friday, Mr Cottrell voiced his staunch opposition to the Bill. He said there was a 'compelling narrative of what it means to be human – and in all our glorious diversity, made in the image of God, and living Jesus-shaped lives – that will enable us to withstand, and even turn back, those utilitarian tides of opinion that risk making, for instance, assisted dying a reality in our national life, changing forever the contract between doctor and patient, pressurising the vulnerable, and assuming an authority over death that belongs to God alone'. Mr Cottrell – who is the temporary leading religious voice of the Church while the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury is awaited – thanked Dame Sarah and 'other Lords Spiritual for their principled and persistent opposition to the assisted dying Bill in Parliament'. It is expected Synod members will engage in a debate on assisted dying during this five-day session. Making the case for assisted dying ahead of last month's vote, a terminally ill Christian preacher criticised the 'nonsensical' religious argument against assisted dying that suffering must be part of life. Church of England lay preacher Pamela Fisher, who is terminally ill with cancer, made an impassioned speech against the religious arguments made by some who oppose assisted dying. Pamela Fisher, a Church of England lay preacher, has argued in favour of assisted dying (Jonathan Brady/PA) Speaking to reporters in June, she said: 'I completely reject the assumption that the sanctity of life requires terminally ill people to undergo a distressing and painful death against their will. 'I disagree with those that say it is God alone who decides how and when we die. 'Yes, life is a gift from God to be honoured but it's nonsensical to say that assisted dying is wrong because suffering is part of God's plan for us.' The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Elsewhere in his opening address to Synod, Mr Cottrell acknowledged, in an apparent reference to controversy around the handling of abuse scandals over the years, that the Church of England had been 'humbled' of late. He said: 'God has humbled us in so many ways this year. 'It has not been easy, but if it has made us more penitent, more determined to put victims and survivors first, more resolved to sort out all sorts of things to do with clergy discipline and accountability, terms of service, independent safeguarding, and other things besides, then, Synod, God the Redeemer, who believes in his Church, is at work among us.'
Glasgow Times
11-07-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Authority over death belongs to God alone, Church of England leader warns
Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell praised a colleague and member of the House of Lords for her 'principled and persistent opposition' to proposed legislation being considered at Westminster. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cleared the House of Commons last month in a historic vote, bringing assisted dying closer to becoming law in England and Wales. It has now moved to the House of Lords where it will undergo further debate and scrutiny. In the immediate aftermath of the June vote, Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, who sits in the House of Lords, said peers 'must oppose' the Bill when it reaches them due to the 'mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe'. She is among those opposed who have called for more work to improve funding and access to 'desperately needed' palliative care services instead. Bishop of London Sarah Mullally said peers 'must oppose' the Bill when it reaches them (PA) Addressing the Church of England General Synod – also known as the Church's parliament – on Friday, Mr Cottrell voiced his staunch opposition to the Bill. He said there was a 'compelling narrative of what it means to be human – and in all our glorious diversity, made in the image of God, and living Jesus-shaped lives – that will enable us to withstand, and even turn back, those utilitarian tides of opinion that risk making, for instance, assisted dying a reality in our national life, changing forever the contract between doctor and patient, pressurising the vulnerable, and assuming an authority over death that belongs to God alone'. Mr Cottrell – who is the temporary leading religious voice of the Church while the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury is awaited – thanked Dame Sarah and 'other Lords Spiritual for their principled and persistent opposition to the assisted dying Bill in Parliament'. It is expected Synod members will engage in a debate on assisted dying during this five-day session. Making the case for assisted dying ahead of last month's vote, a terminally ill Christian preacher criticised the 'nonsensical' religious argument against assisted dying that suffering must be part of life. Church of England lay preacher Pamela Fisher, who is terminally ill with cancer, made an impassioned speech against the religious arguments made by some who oppose assisted dying. Pamela Fisher, a Church of England lay preacher, has argued in favour of assisted dying (Jonathan Brady/PA) Speaking to reporters in June, she said: 'I completely reject the assumption that the sanctity of life requires terminally ill people to undergo a distressing and painful death against their will. 'I disagree with those that say it is God alone who decides how and when we die. 'Yes, life is a gift from God to be honoured but it's nonsensical to say that assisted dying is wrong because suffering is part of God's plan for us.' The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Elsewhere in his opening address to Synod, Mr Cottrell acknowledged, in an apparent reference to controversy around the handling of abuse scandals over the years, that the Church of England had been 'humbled' of late. He said: 'God has humbled us in so many ways this year. 'It has not been easy, but if it has made us more penitent, more determined to put victims and survivors first, more resolved to sort out all sorts of things to do with clergy discipline and accountability, terms of service, independent safeguarding, and other things besides, then, Synod, God the Redeemer, who believes in his Church, is at work among us.'
