Peers “should be asking” how to help dying people “live better”, Arlene Foster has said as she described the “care and compassion” which her mother received at the end of her life.
The former Northern Ireland first minister warned that rolling out assisted dying could give “legitimacy” to terminally ill patients’ thoughts, if they think they “will be better off to be dead”.
Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee said: “Creating a burden to die because we haven’t addressed the burden of care is not a legacy I want for this House.”
Her voice cracked with emotion when she earlier told peers: “My own loved and precious mother died in June of this year.
“Rather than feeling a burden, however, she was surrounded by the most excellent care in her residential home, and then latterly in the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.
“The palliative care she received at the end of her life was compassionate, pain relieving, and such a comfort to her and to us, her family.
“I want that care and compassion for all who are dying, not just some, and I certainly don’t want someone like my mother feeling as if they have to end their life prematurely because they’re a burden to the taxpayer, their carers or their family.
“No one should feel pressurised towards death because of financial strain because of their emotional guilt.”
Lady Foster, the former DUP leader who is now not affiliated with any party in the Lords, added that “no clause can protect against the internalised belief that one’s life is too costly, too demanding or too much”.
She made her comments as peers debated the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which if passed, would see assisted dying made available to adults in England and Wales whose diagnosis means they have six months or less left to live.
Stormont would need to agree its own assisted dying law to roll out similar measures in Northern Ireland.
“Imagine an elderly parent aware of the sacrifices that their child is making to care for them, thinking to themselves they will be better off to be dead,” Lady Foster also said.
“Now, this thought may be fleeting or may take root.
“And the very existence of this piece of legislation gives legitimacy to those thoughts.”
The former first minister added: “Today, we debate how to help people die sooner, but we should be asking how to help them live better, and how to support those who care for them.”
Gavin Walker, the chairman of My Death, My Decision Northern Ireland, which has launched a campaign for a new assisted dying law, said: “Assisted dying is an act of compassion.
“It puts terminally ill people back at the centre of their own care, with meaningful safeguards and the freedom to say ‘enough’ when treatment can no longer relieve their suffering.
“Choice is not a threat to care, it is part of care.”
Mr Walker added: “Our law should trust adults who are dying, respect their values and circumstances, and provide a clear, safeguarded option for those who are suffering.”
Proposals for assisted dying in England and Wales have already cleared the Commons but face scrutiny in the upper chamber before they can become law.
