Woman Advocates for Legal Assisted Dying Following Son’s Death

A woman who was present with her terminally ill son when he took a drug overdose to end his life is now stating that it is time to legalize assisted dying. Heather Pratten, 87, from Rayleigh in Essex, was initially charged with murder concerning her son Nigel Goodman’s death in 2000. The 87-year-old was subsequently found guilty of a lesser offense and received a conditional discharge. “I just hope that this country will now see the necessity of giving people the chance of a peaceful death,” she said. Members of Parliament are scheduled to vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill this Friday. Mr. Goodman chose to end his own life after struggling with the effects of Huntington’s disease, his mother reported. He consumed a heroin overdose to conclude his life on his 42nd birthday at his flat in Plaistow, east London. His mother was arrested after she contacted the police. “I couldn’t just walk out and leave him,” she explained. “I called the police and I told them everything including the fact that in the last few seconds, I put a pillow over his face to help him go.” A post-mortem examination determined that Mrs. Pratten’s actions had no impact on her son’s death. She was convicted of aiding and abetting suicide and was given a 12-month conditional discharge. She has since campaigned as a patron of the charity Dignity in Dying. “I think it is something that is so necessary for people to have somewhere to turn to and for people that are in pain at the end of their life, so they can have a dignified death.” Supporters of the legislation, which is a private members’ bill introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, state that safeguards have been incorporated into it. The bill requires two independent doctors to confirm a person’s eligibility, and a High Court judge would need to issue a ruling. Individuals working in the NHS and in palliative care have indicated that any new law would present fresh challenges for staff. Dr. Karen Chumbley, clinical director at St Helena Hospice in Colchester and a lead in end-of-life care for the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, noted that this topic is not typically covered in staff medical training. She added: “Some of them will have a personal faith based argument and we utterly respect that.” “Others will feel this is not an element of care they wish to offer alongside palliative care for example. “If this legislation is passed, we do need to think how it’s going to be delivered, because its important that if people are going to be able to access this we have to have enough trained clinicians that are able to offer this as a service.”” Opponents of the bill, including Members of Parliament, have cautioned that individuals could be pressured into ending their lives. Paralympian and House of Lords crossbencher Baroness Grey-Thompson informed the BBC that she is concerned about “the impact on vulnerable people, on disabled people, [the risk of] coercive control, and the ability of doctors to make a six-month diagnosis.”