Assisted dying: 'I'm more scared of pain than I am of death itself'

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer at 27, Sherrie Deacon wants to be able to choose when she can die.

The 29-year-old from south Wales is backing the proposed Assisted Dying Bill that is due to be discussed in the House of Lords later this week.

If passed, two doctors and a judge would assess each case and decide if a terminally ill patient with full capacity and less than six months to live can be helped to die.

"I'm more scared of the pain than death itself," said Ms Deacon of Caerphilly. "I think in the latter stages, I don't want to go through that."

But campaigners against the proposed law change are worried it could leave some patients vulnerable to coercion and at risk of seeing a "rogue doctor".

"It's not just about you," said mum Nikki Kenward, who became paralysed by Guillain-Barre Syndrome 30 years ago.

"It is about the door that will open for other people who are seen as less worthy.

"It [assisted dying] stops you mattering, because you can just be got rid of. And then that will change the way we see each other. It's too dangerous."