Making the case for a law on assisted dying | Letter

While no one should underestimate the complexity of safeguarding (and Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill, if anything, does the opposite), Diane Abbott and Edward Leigh inadvertently make the case for legalising assisted dying when they say that “the only adequate safeguard is to keep the law unchanged” (Our politics could not be more different – but we’re united against this dangerous assisted dying bill, 20 November).The law as it stands is an inhumane set of traps. In 1961, it decriminalised suicide and then criminalised “encouraging or assisting” it – two different things. Encouraging suicide should continue to be a crime. The proposed reform is about whether it should continue to be a crime to assist a mentally competent adult to bring a dignified conclusion to a life that is approaching its end

‘Resilience interventions do work’ – why coping strategies should be a staple of education

Early instruction that teaches young people how to recognise negative thought patterns and manage their mental health may help to avoid problems in later lifeI was about 16 when I had my first bout of depression, but 29 when I sought help and received a diagnosis. In the intervening period, I thought I could weather my low moods alone, but the waves of hopelessness didn’t lessen; they only gained momentum. I was left with a strong desire to evaporate, leaving no trace of my existence in the world.I am extremely lucky to have responded well to a course of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but I can’t help wondering how much pain I could have avoided if I’d learned to manage my mental health better at a younger age, before my symptoms had even started to develop.This is the thinking behind new efforts to build people’s mental resilience

Shabana Mahmood should not impose her religious beliefs on others, says peer

Cabinet ministers should not impose their religious beliefs on others in their objections to assisted dying, a leading proponent of changing the law has said.In response to an intervention from Shabana Mahmood, Charlie Falconer, a Labour peer and ally of Keir Starmer, said the justice secretary had “religious and spiritual reasons” for being opposed to assisted dying.“I think she’s motivated – and I respect this – by her religious beliefs. They shouldn’t be imposed on everybody else,” Lord Falconer told Sky News.Mahmood had said there was a risk of going down a “slippery slope towards death on demand”, as MPs prepare to vote on a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in England and Wales this week

‘Deep in my madness, witches gave me hope’: Elizabeth Sankey on motherhood, depression and witches

While battling through the darkness of severe postpartum anxiety, Elizabeth Sankey saw a light of solidarity in the stories of witchcraftFour years ago, when my son was only one month old, he and I were admitted to a mother and baby unit, a psychiatric ward that cares for people with perinatal mental health issues and their babies. I was diagnosed with severe postpartum anxiety and depression, and placed on medication. I had weekly sessions with the psychiatric team about my progress, and my son and I spent time with the other women on the ward and their babies. Every day, sometimes twice a day, my husband would come and see us and we would walk around Hackney as I tried to remember who I once was, tried to resist the temptation to step in front of a car. Gradually, horrifically, painfully slowly, I got a bit better

UK’s assisted dying law won’t be ‘slippery slope’ says California doctor who has helped dozens end their life

A California doctor who has helped dozens of terminally ill people end their lives at a time of their own choosing has said decades of experience in the US showed that there was no danger of a “slippery slope” if assisted dying legislation was robustly framed.Dr Catherine Sonquist Forest, a family physician based in Santa Cruz, said the proposed legislation due to be voted on by MPs at Westminster this week was “impressive”.Since California legalised assisted dying eight years ago, there had been no broadening of the criteria, and in neighbouring Oregon, there had been no change to the law in nearly three decades. “I don’t see change coming any time soon,” Forest told the Observer.Forest has trained thousands of doctors to help terminally ill people to die, and has been personally involved in dozens of assisted deaths

Tory MP Danny Kruger investigated by standards watchdog over assisted dying funds

One of the UK’s most high-profile campaigners against assisted dying is being investigated over funding to a parliamentary group that received £55,000 from lobbyists linked to the Christian right.Westminster’s standards watchdog has opened a case into Danny Kruger, Conservative MP for East Wiltshire, who was chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on dying well from its launch in 2021 until earlier this year.Kruger is a vocal opponent of assisted dying, writing newspaper articles and fronting a documentary debating the subject with his mother, the Great British Bake Off star Prue Leith.The website for the parliamentary commissioner for standards, Daniel Greenberg, said the investigation into Kruger related to an alleged breach of the rules for APPGs linked to the “registration of an interest received by the APPG on dying well”.A second potential breach relates to the “production and publication of an income and expenditure statement by the APPG on dying well”