Improved palliative care wouldn’t stop assisted suicide threatening vulnerable, says campaigner

EVEN improved palliative care would not stop legal assisted suicide being a threat to the disabled and people in poverty, a disability rights campaigner warned today.

Ipsos polling this week found 34 per cent of the public feel assisted dying should only be legalised if accompanied by additional investment in end-of-life care. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested he believes improved palliative care should come before any move to legalise assisted suicide. The issue returns to the Commons this week.