Disabilities Advocate Urges MPs Not to Be Seduced by Emotive Language in Assisted Suicide Debate

Actress and disability rights campaigner Liz Carr has warned MPs not to be seduced by words like compassion, dignity, and choice when considering the new Private Members’ Bill on assisted suicide. On Wednesday, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will introduce her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the House of Commons. The bill would allow adults in England and Wales who are terminally ill “to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life,” according to a summary on the parliamentary order paper. The bill’s summary says the provision would be subject to safeguards and protections, but Carr has warned that there would be no safe way to change the law while guaranteeing the protection of older and disabled people....