I can see both sides of the argument but  frankly believe that the politicians bottled out.

80% of the public think that assisted suicide, with appropriate safeguards, should be an option. 70% of MPs voted against - they obviously think they know best.

I distinctly remember my Grandad saying on his dying bed "if I were a dog, someone would put me out of my misery by now". Palliative care has come a long way since then I know, but he had a basic point which endures in that we can euthenise animals to prevent unnecessary suffering but not ourselves.

I do like the idea of writing to MPs to point out that if they won't allow assisted suicide they should at least ensure everyone in the UK has access to decent palliative care. We need to move away from the current postcode lottery which has worsened since the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act which delegated commissioning of palliative care to Clinical Care Groups at local level.