Give us dignity in how we die, MPs are told by terminally ill

TERMINALLY-ill people whose deaths could be shaped by the bill’s success or failure were among those who gathered in sunny Westminster before the debate.

- By Hanna Geissler

Maddie Cowey, 27, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer - sarcoma - aged 18.

She told the Express: "It’s going to be the thing that kills me one day and I would really like the choice to have dignity in my death."

Maddie is taking part in a clinical trial but said her cancer is still growing slowly. She added: "It's not going to be cured. I naturally have concerns about how my death is going to play out. I've had nine years to ruminate about

Trauma...Catie Fenner with her mum Alison

this. It’s not something I take lightly. A lot of people don’t think about their death until it’s coming and it’s going to happen to all of us. Who wouldn’t want a peaceful death?

"Even if I choose to take the assisted dying route, having the option is really important to me."

Jilly McKeane, 72, was diagnosed with renal cancer in 2019, which has now spread. She said: "I've had to come to terms with the fact that eventually this is going to kill me. I want the choice, when I have no quality of life, when I can't enjoy the simple things in life, I don’t want my life to be prolonged. If I can’t do it here, I will go to Switzerland or somewhere that will allow me to do that. But I shouldn’t have to."

Catie Fenner, 37, joined the demonstration in memory of her mum Alison, who travelled to Dignitas in 2023 when her symptoms of motor neurone disease became too much to bear.