Assisted dying campaigner wants to see law changed, saying “compassion isn't a crime”
A daughter says her family are worried about being prosecuted after her mother travelled to Switzerland to end her life
Last updated 27th May 2025
A daughter campaigning for assisted dying to become law in the UK has been sharing her story about how her mother travelled to Switzerland to end her life after suffering from motor neurone disease.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, would allow only terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death - subject to approval by two doctors and the three-member expert panel.
Alison, from Wokingham, Berkshire, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in June 2022 and went to Switzerland in February 2023 to end her life.
Her daughter, Catie Fenner from Didcot, Oxfordshire, is campaigning for terminally ill people to have a “peaceful” option to end their life, she says “it would mean so much to me, to know that other people are not going to go through what we went through”.
“Our grief has been massively disrupted due to the fact that we couldn't be there. We couldn't have a funeral because our body never came back.
“Although my mum got the death that she wanted, it was still isolated. It was still alone. She was away from so many people that loved her”, she said.
Catie’s father made the journey to Switzerland with Alison on their own.
“We wanted to be there for dad because we knew that he was going to have to come back on his own, but mum was very adamant she wanted to protect us”, she said.
Currently, assisting someone to end their life is illegal in the UK and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Catie says they “worry all the time” about the possibility of prosecution.
She said: “it's very unlikely that anything is going to happen to us. But we do live with that worry all the time.
“I've already lost my mum. I don't want to lose my dad as well because it was absolutely her decision and it would have been one of the cruellest things we could have done, if we had denied her that decision.”
She added: “If the police were to come and speak to dad, that would be a really stressful ordeal. Or, if we were to be put through any kind of investigation, it would be a really horrendous ordeal and we just shouldn't have to live with any worry.”
Campaigners against the bill, such as Care Not Killing, say it fails to safeguard some of the most vulnerable in society
They want to promote ‘more and better palliative care’, as well as ensuring that “existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed”.
A third reading vote on the Bill is expected to take place next month in June.
If you need to talk to someone you can call the Samaritans on 116 123, or visit their website www.samaritans.org.