Family of woman who died alone on bathroom floor calls for assisted dying law change

The son of a woman, who died alone on her bathroom floor having taken her own life, says legalising is a “huge opportunity for the country”.

George Smith has spoken of the harrowing experience of his his 80-year-old mother, Maureen Smith from Essex, who dressed in her best clothes and put on her favourite jewellery before taking an overdose in her home earlier this year. She was in "excruciating pain" from trigeminal neuralgia, a condition causing electric shock-like pains. He said legalisation of assisted dying is long overdue.

She had been denied a peaceful death surrounded by family due to current laws, says George. Despite spending a joyful with the family and being in "really good form", Maureen's unbearable pain led to her tragic decision in January.

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After a "hugely invasive operation" which initially eased her suffering, the painful attacks returned. George disclosed that his mother explicitly refused to undergo further surgery. Speaking publicly for the first time, he said: "She was quite vocal about that, but we hadn’t appreciated that she was at that stage when she took her life."

"We were aware that the pain was coming back, but she was telling us that it was manageable. But after she had taken her life, it transpired in her beautiful, articulate letter, explaining that it had just got too much, and she had kept that from us," said Mr Smith, a 56-year-old father-of-one who lives in Barnes, west London.

His mother, a former record shop owner, was described as a "very positive, upbeat person who lived a simple, basic life, but a happy life". He said: "In spite of her condition – she had multiple sclerosis from a young age, and so throughout my life, more or less – she didn’t let that impede her life. And that’s what I’d like to get across. My mother was not a depressed woman at all. On the contrary, yeah, she considered herself very lucky."

As MPs gear up to consider a new bill on choice at the end of life, Mr Smith urged them to listen to stories like his and vote for new legislation. He said: "As a family, what we want to get across is choice. It’s a personal choice, and that my mother would have, and us as a family, would have loved to have said goodbyes."

"We so wish she hadn’t done it on her own, but we do feel lucky, in as much that she appears to have died peacefully."

However, campaigners against a change in the law have expressed concerns about certain groups, including the disabled and the elderly, being vulnerable to coercion. He emphasised the need for strong legal protection for society's most vulnerable, stating "absolutely" that "the law must be robust enough that it covers that."

He added: "I see it (the bill) as a huge opportunity for the country, and it’s long overdue. Everything I’ve read is that public opinion is leaning towards this, and anecdotally, as a man in his late 50s, I’m hearing more and more friends of mine in similar positions. They were all feeling the same way that the law needs to be changed."

The specifics of the proposed legislation are yet to be revealed, with Labour MP Kim Leadbeater promising extensive consultations before introducing it to Parliament. However, Mr Smith insisted that the law should also cover those suffering from incurable conditions, adding: "If you think about it, incurable pain is almost worse than terminal illness, because with terminal illness, at least you know there’s an end, whereas with incurable pain there’s no end in sight."

"I am angry in that she had to die alone on her bathroom floor, but I’m at peace because she was lucky – and that sounds ironic – that she appears to have died peacefully. She put on her best clothes, she put on her favourite jewellery. She made a bed on the floor of her small bathroom."

"Of course, we would have liked it, you know, another way. In a medical environment where there would have been guarantees, where we could have been with her and shared our last moments, if that’s what she had wanted, which we think she would have done, and we as a family certainly would have wanted that."

"And we were denied all of that. And this law, if it’s widened to cover incurable pain, we’d have been protected and we would have got that and that’s what my mum would have wanted. And that’s certainly what I would want if I find myself in a similar position."

Trevor Moore, chairman of My Death, My Decision, said: "Maureen’s heart-wrenching ordeal exposes the cruelty of our current law on assisted dying. Faced with a lonely and devastating decision, Maureen took matters into her own hands and her death still haunts the loved ones she left behind."

He continued: "Sadly, this tragic experience is not an isolated case, as our blanket ban on assisted dying in the UK continues to inflict unnecessary suffering on countless individuals up and down the country."

Meanwhile, Care expressed that while proper care for the dying is crucial, "assisted suicide is not the response dying people deserve". Ross Hendry, the chief executive, said: "This practice denies the intrinsic value of human life and sends a message that some lives aren’t worth living."

"Disabled people, professionals working with vulnerable adults, and many others find the prospect of a law change frightening. No number of safeguards could remove the threat of vulnerable people being coerced into ending their lives. Neither could they prevent people choosing to die because they feel like a burden, or because they don’t have support."