Assisted dying law sends the message that the lives of the elderly, terminally ill and disabled are not worth living

When the numbers were announced, there was no cheering but a silence that showed how serious this issue is, writes Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson – who says she was ‘moved to tears’ after fiercely opposing the bill

As the debate on assisted dying passed its second reading, there was one thing that I could say that I was relieved about: when the voting figures were announced, there was no cheering but a silence that showed how serious this issue is.

In the debate, regardless of how it went, there will be those who will categorise it as those who are winners and those who are losers. We are not at that stage yet, but I have said it before and I will say it again: this law sends the message that the lives of the elderly, terminally ill and disabled are not worth living.

Many have raised their heads above the parapet and we will all have had correspondence saying we are heartless – or various versions of it.

I don’t take offence. I do understand why people think I lack compassion for opposing the bill. I would argue there is compassion on all sides. And I think we have to take emotion out of the debate because it is hard to legislate for that.

But I did get a bit weepy this morning at seeing so many disabled people at 8am outside parliament, knowing the discrimination they have battled to survive to this point in their lives – never mind get to central London on a transport system that just about allows one wheelchair user per bus (if you are lucky).

A second reading should be about the bill’s content but it is not surprising that members talked about specific cases. Specialist palliative care is a postcode lottery and it should not be.

In the five hours allowed, they only scratched the surface – and while their vote is binary, many who voted “yes” said they wanted to be able to debate the subject in more detail and have more assurance about the safeguards.

Due to the parliamentary process, we did not hear from everyone and their voices must be heard. However, I suspect much will fall on an unelected chamber, the House of Lords, to try to make it a “less bad bill”.

Right now, my emotions are mixed and I feel a bit raw – as I am sure lots of people do. I do not want to halt the debate but the devil is in the detail. At the forthcoming committee, they need to examine who, when, what, where and how. There are no quick soundbites in this.

What feels different this time – compared to 2015 when this issue was last debated – is that many MPs put on social media why they were voting a certain way, to manage expectations. Today might have been hard for them, but the next stages are not going to be any easier – especially for people like me.

Baroness Grey-Thompson is a former Paralympian