Skip to main content
Assisted dying is a class issue, Diane Abbott and disability rights groups warn
People take part in a demonstration at Old Palace Yard in Westminster, London, to oppose the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, November 29, 2024

“ASSISTED dying is a class issue,” Liz Carr of Not Dead Yet told activists, journalists and MPs at a meeting in Parliament on Wednesday night.

“As long as we live in a world where certain groups of people are devalued — and we saw [in the welfare cuts debate] really powerfully the distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor — it will never be safe to legalise assisted suicide, because no safeguard can protect against the abuse that will happen.”

Labour MP Diane Abbott hosted the meeting, jointly organised by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and the Morning Star, explaining she opposed the assisted dying Bill “because I know what people are like, and I know what institutions are like.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Sophie Blake (centre) and Becky Scott (right) join supporters of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill), during a photocall at Parliament Square in London, June 8, 2026
Healthcare / 15 June 2026
15 June 2026
Campaigners protest outside Parliament in Westminster, London, ahead of a debate in the House of Commons on assisted dying, April 29, 2024
Opinion / 27 February 2026
27 February 2026

Evidence to peers from medical leaders, patient safety officials and the children’s commissioner has intensified fears that the Bill’s safeguards are inadequate, writes ADAM JAMES POLLOCK

Campaigners in support and in opposition of the assisted dying Bill in Parliament Square, central London, ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons, June 20, 2025
Features / 1 July 2025
1 July 2025

GEOFF BOTTOMS, who has worked in a palliative care hospice for 11 years, argues the postcode lottery for proper end-of-life care must be ended to give the terminally ill choice and agency