Danni Perry’s flag display at the Royal Opera House sparked 182 performers to sign a solidarity letter that cancelled the Tel Aviv Tosca production, while Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Tel Aviv hotels, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Why I, as someone with disabilities, support the Assisted Dying Bill
There is consternation that allowing assisted dying to be legalised would impact the disabled — but if it is limited to the terminally ill, as we expect it will be, I support it, writes RUTH HUNT
YANA PETTICREW explains what’s behind the strike and how the entire sector rests on super-exploiting an unorganised workforce
STEPHEN ARNELL casts a critical eye over the sudden rash of challenges to the two-party system on both sides of the Atlantic, noting that today’s performative populist politics sadly lacks Roosevelt’s progressive ‘Bull Moose’ vision of the early 20th century
BILL KIDD MSP says increasing Britain’s nuclear arsenal at this time is dangerous and expensive folly
ROGER McKENZIE asks whether the US’s shift to targeting everyone at once will instil greater co-operation among rising powers
BY WRITING that I support assisted dying, I feel as if I am going against the disabled community and might find myself subject to a social media “pile-on” with all those who disagree making it clear they think I’m in the wrong.
Coverage of a demonstration in 2015 against the Bill introduced by Rob Marris MP on assisted dying reinforced this belief. Various people with disabilities were interviewed, with some of those mentioning that on the side against assisted dying were disabled people, but on the side for assisted dying, there was not. Since then, similar comments have been made in articles.
This impression, that the disabled community speak with one voice, has made it extremely difficult for those with disabilities to speak up in favour of assisted dying. Not only will they be going against their own “community” but now with the debate so polarised and emotive many fear that if they raise their heads to speak, they may suffer the backlash from entrenched and long-established positions from well-organised pressure groups (on both sides).
More from this author
By making Personal Independence Payments harder to access, Labour is creating another barrier for those already struggling with soaring care costs, workplace discrimination and prejudiced employers, argues RUTH HUNT
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT
Behind the Samaritans’ promise to always listen, callers face secret restrictions and automated blocks while the charity admits setting limits without clearly warning ‘frequent’ users they risk getting cut off — or why, writes RUTH HUNT
What’s needed are more truly accessible homes, radical reform of the private sector to protect disabled tenants, and a less myopic view of the housing market focused on ‘homeowners,’ argues RUTH HUNT
