Ed sits quietly in her favorite armchair, eyes fixed on the autumn landscape outside her window. Just four weeks ago, the 82-year-old was behind the wheel of her camper van, volunteering and savoring the winter bowling season. Now, after receiving a diagnosis of an aggressive, inoperable brain tumor, her world has shifted irreversibly. With only weeks to live, Ed is spending her final days not just reflecting, but speaking out—determined that her voice will help shape the debate over assisted dying in the United Kingdom and beyond.
"I'd say my life, as I've known it, is very definitely over. It's definitely gone," Ed told Sky News in a candid interview published November 13, 2025. Her prognosis is grim, but her resolve is unwavering. Ed has chosen to use her remaining time to support the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, currently under scrutiny in the House of Lords. This proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to legally end their lives—a measure she believes is essential for ensuring dignity and self-respect at the end of life.
"Looking at my life, for however long it is now, which I'm told isn't actually to be very long, it's not my life, I'm not going to be in control of it," Ed said. "This malignant growth in my brain is going to choose for me." Her greatest fear is not death itself, but losing her sense of self, her autonomy, and the dignity she has always valued. "I feel I should have a choice. I feel that it should be me who says 'Well I think I'll get off this bus now. I've reached where I want to go to, and I'm quite happy, I've had a good life.'"
Across the Atlantic, a parallel debate is unfolding in New York. On November 13, 2025, lawmakers and advocates called on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) bill, which would give terminally ill adults with a prognosis of six months or less the legal right to seek physician-assisted death. As CBS News reports, the bill requires patients to submit a written request signed by two witnesses. No proxies are allowed to make the request, aiming to ensure that the decision is truly the patient's own.
The movement for assisted dying is deeply personal for many. Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who sponsors the New York bill, was inspired by her sister’s suffering during hospice care. "They couldn't relieve her pain," Paulin recalled. "Often she would scream 'when am I going to die already?'" For Paulin and others, the legislation is about offering relief from unbearable pain—something Ed in the UK echoes as she contemplates her own final days.
Dr. Jeremy Boal, a Columbia County resident living with ALS, is another supporter of MAID. He told CBS News, "I know I'm going to die from my illness. That's not something I can change, but [MAID] gives me a sense of control, should I reach a point where my suffering is unbearable." For patients like Boal, the option of assisted dying is not about hastening death, but about having some say over the circumstances of their final moments.
The desire for control and dignity resonates with many facing terminal illnesses. Hartsdale resident Eileen Kaufman, in remission from ovarian cancer, shared her own fears: "I fear suffering. I fear being in pain." Mandi Zucker, director of End of Life Choices New York, a nonprofit advocating for MAID, added, "We hear from people who are looking to travel all around the country and even out of the country so that they can access this option, which means they can't die in their own home in their own bed, surrounded by their own family." The emotional toll of having to leave one’s home for such a decision, Ed notes, is not something she would contemplate. "I think it should be made easier for people and their families to all be able to deal with it," she said. "That's my wish for other people in the future, that it would be an organised, dignified way where people could talk over with their families and decide what is the best thing."
Yet, the push for legalizing assisted dying is not without controversy. In the UK, critics of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill worry about the safety of vulnerable people and the potential for coercion, especially among the elderly, seriously ill, and disabled. Ed acknowledges these concerns but insists, "I accept that there are vulnerable people but the people who are looking after them are the ones that will have to be honest and make the choices, as they already will do for vulnerable people. I don't want other people to restrict my choice. I'm perfectly capable of deciding for me."
In New York, opposition comes from several quarters. Assemblywoman Latrice Walker has raised questions about the safe disposal of lethal medications, asking, "I am concerned. What happens when a person says, 'I don't want to take this drug anymore'? And people do it all the time. Is there a safe way to dispose it?" Assemblywoman Paulin has responded that the Department of Health would be tasked with ensuring safe disposal procedures. The New York State Catholic Conference has also criticized the bill, highlighting the lack of mandatory mental health evaluations unless specifically requested by a doctor. Kristen Curran, director of government relations for the Conference, warned, "This bill is probably the most permissive assisted suicide legislation in the country ... There's so many holes in this bill that I think it would be ripe for abuse."
Governor Hochul, for her part, is weighing the decision carefully. Back in September, when asked about her personal beliefs, she said she could separate them from what is right for New Yorkers. She described the matter as a "weighty decision" with passionate arguments on both sides and promised to reach a decision before the end of the year.
For Ed, the debate is not theoretical—it’s urgently real. She has planned her final days meticulously, even organizing a kitchen disco for November 21, 2025, as a last celebration with friends and family. "I'm very realistic, it's no good weeping and wailing about it. Some people have hard times all their lives. I've had a wonderful life, and if this is my hard time in my life, I've just got to face it and accept it. We're going to have a kitchen disco next Friday, and we should be able to do that then say 'goodbye'. That would be fine."
As lawmakers in the UK and New York grapple with the ethics and logistics of assisted dying, voices like Ed’s remind us that, behind every bill and debate, there are real people seeking control, dignity, and a measure of peace at the end of their lives.
