Are you for or against assisted dying (don't confuse it with euthanasia)?

Woman who was accused of murdering her husband says she would 'do it again'
A woman who joined a pact with her husband after he decided to end his life due to a terminal illness is hoping telling their story will help change laws in the UK.

A family are hoping their assisted dying trauma will be turned into a hit drama, that looks to change laws in the UK.

When terminally ill Dennis Eccleston, 81, decided to end his life, his wife Mavis chose to join him in a pact. She survived and later stood trial for his murder, reports the Mirror.

Through telling their story, the family hope to win over those who think assisted dying should remain illegal. Dame Esther Rantzen, who is also campaigning for a law change after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, said: “I pray the power of this drama will persuade lawmakers and the medical profession that criminalising assisted dying is cruel and wrong.

That is what the vast majority of the public believe.” The broadcasting legend, 83, added: “That is the best memorial for Dennis and Mavis. And it is a legacy that will provide comfort and protection for generations of terminally ill patients and their families.”

After cancer-stricken Dennis told Mavis his plan to end his life when the pain became too much, she replied: “If that’s the way you are going then I’m coming too.” Then when the day arrived in 2018, they lay together in their home holding hands after taking 40 sleeping pills. She said: “Goodnight, darling.” And he told her: “God bless.”

But instead of slipping away peacefully together, they were disturbed by an unplanned visit from their daughter Lynne Eccleston, 64, who called 999. Dennis had signed a do not resuscitate letter and was made comfortable as he died, but Mavis had fallen unconscious before she finished writing her own request not to be revived on her 13-page suicide note, so doctors saved her.

She was then taken from hospital in her nightie, locked in a police cell for 30 hours and accused of murdering Dennis. She was finally cleared after a trial 18 months later at Stafford crown court, but the trauma she endured took its toll.

Now the family have told their story to production company Corestar Media. The script for a drama – called Goodnight, Darling – has been written by Deborah Moggach, the author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Mavis, 85, whose story moved millions after the picture of her and her husband together in their hospital beds in his final moments was beamed around the world, told the Mirror: “I have no regrets."

“I would do it all again to help my husband escape the terrible pain he was in. It was awful, especially to be accused of murdering the man I had loved for 60 years.

“But I’m glad I went through it to show how our law is broken and needs to change. Seeing our story on screen will make it relatable. I hope the public get behind it and change the law. I’m so proud of my children for fighting for this. This drama will show the heartache families are faced with. We are campaigning so people can die peacefully with family and friends around them.”

Read on: [edinburghlive.co.uk]

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