Rayleigh’s mother has no regrets about letting her son die

A woman who was with her terminally ill son when he took a drug overdose to end his life says it’s time to legalize medical assistance in dying.

Heather Pratten, 87, from Rayleigh in Essex, was initially charged with murder following the death of her son Nigel Goodman in 2000.

The 87-year-old was later convicted of a lesser offense and released conditionally.

“I just hope that this country will now understand the need to give its people the chance to die peacefully,” she said.

Mr. Goodman decided to kill himself after struggling with the effects of Huntington’s disease, his mother said.

He took a heroin overdose to end his life on his 42nd birthday at his flat in Plaistow, east London.

His mother was arrested after calling the police.

“I couldn’t just go and leave him,” she explained.

“I called the police and told them everything, including the fact that in the last seconds I put a pillow over his face to help him leave.”

An autopsy found that Pratten’s actions had no impact on her son’s death.

She was found guilty of abetting suicide and given a 12-month conditional discharge. She has since campaigned as a patron of the charity Dignity in Dying.

“I think it’s something that’s very necessary for people to have somewhere to turn and for people who are suffering at the end of their lives, so they can die with dignity.”

Supporters of the bill – which is a private member’s bill introduced by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater – say guarantees have been integrated.

Two independent doctors must be satisfied that a person is eligible and a High Court judge should make a decision.

People working in the NHS and palliative care said any new laws would pose new challenges for staff.

Dr Karen Chumbley, clinical director of St Helena Hospice in Colchester and lead for end of life care for NHS Suffolk and the North East Essex Integrated Care Board, said it was not something staff took into account in his medical training.

She added: “Some of them will have a personal argument based on faith and we totally respect that.

“Others will feel that it is not an element of care that they want to offer alongside palliative care, for example.

“If this legislation is passed, we need to think about how it will be implemented, because it is important that, for people to be able to access it, we have enough qualified clinicians who can offer it as a service.”

Opponents of the bill, including MPs, have warned that people could be pressured to end their lives.

Baroness Grey-Thompson, a Paralympian and member of the House of Lords, told the BBC she was concerned about “the impact on vulnerable people, on disabled people, (the risk of) coercive control and the ability of doctors to make a diagnosis at six months. .