Artist's assisted dying exhibition inspired by dad

Martha Madden's father Stephen was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015

An artist has said her work, based on the experience of her father’s death, gives people a “different perspective” on assisted dying.

Martha Madden, from Bradford, explores her grief through textiles and hand-stitch techniques and has backed calls for assisted dying to be legalised in the UK.

The debate was reignited this week when Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater announced she would bring an assisted dying bill to parliament.

Ms Madden, 24, began supporting the campaign for assisted dying after witnessing her dad’s “agony” while living with terminal bowel cancer.

Martha Madden's work is included in an exhibition at Leeds City Museum

She said: “My dad was scared of dying, and I think anyone in that position would be. But he believed in the choice."

Her father, Stephen, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015, the same year MPs last voted on the issue.

His illness became terminal in 2018, which was a “traumatic experience”, she said, before his death in January 2019.

“It led to me using art as a way to express all of these really awful emotions I was trying to work through, and I found that it was a much more tangible way for me to express the struggles that we were all going through as a family.”

Martha said she was “very much in favour” of assisted dying being legalised.

“Even the strongest painkillers weren’t good enough for the condition [my Dad] was in, and it was just absolutely devastating, like a piece of your soul just gets taken away when you see someone you love so much in so much pain”, she said.

Martha Madden said her artwork helps her to connect with people

Her work features in an exhibition at Leeds City Museum called Living with Death.

Ms Madden said producing her pieces was a “chance to really reflect on the traumatic things that happened while creating something that I can really pour my strong emotions into".

She added: “I find that my artwork helps to connect with people on more of an emotional level than maybe sometimes just my words.

“And it’s also giving people a different perspective who might have had a different opinion.”

Martha Madden explores her grief through textiles and hand-stitch techniques

Right to choose

Speaking earlier this week, Leadbeater said the new proposals would give eligible adults nearing the end of their lives the right to choose to shorten their deaths if they wished.

She said: "I do think the mood has changed. I think the mood has changed publicly and I think the mood has changed within parliament."

However, some campaigners have said the focus should be on improving end-of-life care and have called the proposal to change the law “dangerous and ideological”.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of the group Care not Killing, said: “I would strongly urge the government to focus on fixing our broken palliative care system that sees up to one in four Brits who would benefit from this type of care being unable to access it.”

Ms Madden said the issue was “not black and white".

"I would say it is a case-by-case basis, but I think that those people who want the choice to shorten their death should get the choice," she said.

“I think it would make the UK a much better, more forward-thinking place.”

The Living with Death exhibition is at Leeds City Museum until 5 January 2025.