Widow who took husband to Dignitas tells peers law must change

A widow investigated for almost a year after accompanying her husband to Dignitas has urged lawmakers to recognise that assisted dying cannot be just for “the elite”.

Louise Shackleton, who was told this month she will not face charges over her husband’s assisted death in Switzerland last December, made her plea to House of Lords peers as they prepared to carry out further scrutiny of a Bill which would give some people a right to die in England and Wales.

The mother-of-three from North Yorkshire paid tribute to her “amazing” husband Antony, who had motor neurone disease, and recalled how he had asked her to “tell my story” after his death.

She said the 59-year-old had been “so pleased” that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its first vote in the House of Commons last November, less than a week before his death at Dignitas.

Mrs Shackleton said while they were in a position to be able to afford the costly and difficult trip abroad, the right to die should not be something available only to the privileged few.

A special scrutiny committee will take further evidence on the Westminster Bill in Parliament on Wednesday.

Asked for her message to peers opposed to the legislation, Mrs Shackleton told the PA news agency: “Assisted dying already exists in England – the wealthy can afford to go to Switzerland and Belgium.

“The wealthy have choice. We need to be mindful that society has spoken via the Commons, and this choice of whether to end suffering needs to be afforded to all the people and not just to the elite.”

The legislation proposes allowing terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death.

It is uncertain whether Mr Shackleton might have ben eligible for an assisted death under the Bill as it stands, regarding the six-month prognosis.

Describing the current law as “draconian”, Mrs Shackleton said: “It’s not about whether someone should have the right to die, but whether the state or anyone else has the right to compel you to live a life that’s full of suffering, pain and agony.”

The Bill passed second reading stage in the House of Lords last month, the furthest any such legislation has progressed through Parliament at Westminster.

But many peers remain opposed, warning of its potential impact on society’s most vulnerable, with fears among some that the Bill has not had enough scrutiny and not enough consideration has been given to how it might work in practice.

Assisted dying applications under this Bill would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

It will become law in England and Wales only if both the House of Commons and House of Lords agree on the final wording of the Bill.

If it does pass into law, the Government has four years in which to get an assisted dying service into place, meaning it could be 2029/30 before the first assisted death happens.

Of Mrs Shackleton’s case, North Yorkshire Police said the investigation had “clearly been a complex and sensitive” one and it was “decided not to be in the public interest to prosecute”.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “Upon careful review by specialist prosecutors, it was determined our legal test for prosecution was not met and we advised no further action be taken.”

Assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.

Mr Shackleton had left a letter for his wife on her return from Switzerland, but she was only able to read it in recent weeks when the police investigation concluded, as she feared opening the laptop it was on while the probe was ongoing.

She described it as a letter “full of love”.

She told PA: “He clearly thought that I would be opening that letter on my return, and clearly I couldn’t do that.

“It was full of reassurance. It was full of love. He thanked me for my sacrifice, for taking him, and he thanked me for the life that we had together.”

The Bill scrutiny committee, which is sitting for six sessions over the next three weeks, is expected to hear from medical and legal experts, while other potential witnesses to be called include Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary David Lammy, both of whom voted against the Bill in the Commons.