'To call dying people suicidal is to callously miss the point'

CAMPAIGNERS have strongly criticised peers including former Prime Minister Theresa May for using "inappropriate" and "inaccurate" language when debating assisted dying.

- EXCLUSIVE By Hanna Geissler Health Editor

During the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill's second reading last Friday, Baroness May of Maidenhead referred to the legislation as an "assisted suicide bill" and said her friend had branded it the "licence to kill bill".

She added: "This bill effectively says suicide is OK. What message does that give to our society?"

A number of other peers also referred to the bill's aims as "suicide". With the debate due to resume this morning, dozens of campaigners have penned an open letter to peers urging them to use more respectful language.

Single mum Sophie Blake, 52, is terminally ill with breast cancer and does not want her teenage daughter to see her suffer at the end of life.