'It is too late for my dad but not for others... they will not have to go through what I went through'

The daughter of a man who travelled to Dignitas to end his life has said said the new government bill will allow people to "die with dignity".

John Hawkins, 66, chose to end his life on September 27, 2024, after suffering an 18-month battle with motor neurone disease (MND). John, whose father had died from MND, knew he soon wouldn't be well enough to fly over to Switzerland, so travelled across to the country as he 'didn't want to live through that'.

Today, his daughter, Nicola, has spoken out after MPs took an historic step towards legalising assisted dying after voting in favour of a bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.

READ MORE: How your MP voted on the assisted dying bill

The bill will allow adults who meet the criteria to request assistance from a doctor to end their life. They must be over the age of 18, have mental capacity, are terminally ill and in the final six months of their life.

Nicola, who has a 50 per cent chance of getting MND, said she wasn't expecting the bill to pass but said she is "relieved" as she won't have to go through what her dad did.

Speaking through tears, Nicola, a CCTV trainer from Manchester, said: "I am so happy, it is too late for my dad but it is not too late for other people. They will not have to go through what I went through.

"It also potentially means that I won't have to do what my dad did - I might be able to die at home with my family. I really didn't think the bill would pass - I am so shocked."

In April 2022, John got the devastating news that he had MND. John's dad, also called John, was also diagnosed with MND and died from the disease in 2012, aged 79. As John knew what would happen to him, he decided he "didn’t want to live through that" and made the choice to have an assisted death, his daughter said.

Nicola said: "Because his dad had it, he knew the outcome. He was a really active person before the diagnosis. I watched him go from running around Ennerdale, a lake in Cumbria, to being sat down on the sofa with a neck brace on.

“He said if he hadn’t seen it with his dad, he might not have made that decision but because he knew what would happen, he didn’t want to live through that."

Nicola said that her dad "died with dignity" and everyone in the UK should have the right to die the same way. She said: "Dignitas is to die with dignity and that is exactly what my dad made the decision to do.

"My dad died without carers having to look after him, and most importantly he was able to take his dog for one last walk Thursday morning before we flew. If every family went through what we have I do believe the law in the UK would have changed by now."

After an 18-month battle, John, his wife Lynn, 56, and Nicola flew to Dignitas. On September 27, 2024, John took his own life surrounded by his family.

Nicola said that if her dad was alive he would be happy as she believes she might have had longer with him if assisted dying was legal in the UK.

She said: "Depending on the conditions of the bill, he would be relieved. It gives people the choice to die with dignity. It is a step in the right direction with MND, it really is."