Assisted suicide activist dies from cancer

A doctor who championed assisted suicide has died from pancreatic cancer.

Dr Ann McPherson, one of the best-known GPs in the country, died at the weekend aged 65.

She was a patron of Dignity in Dying and founder of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying.

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Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “All at Dignity in Dying are saddened by Ann’s death.

“In the two years since she became involved, Ann has done a huge amount for the campaign and she leaves an incredible legacy.

“The fact that she founded Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying – an organisation that now has over 400 members – was an active patron of Dignity in Dying and continued to work tirelessly on other projects close to her heart, all at the late stages of terminal cancer, is a testament to her strength and tenacity.”

Joe Collier, acting chair of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying (HPAD) said: “Ann helped found HPAD expressly because she herself was terminally ill and wanted others in her position to have the choice of dying with dignity.

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“We all knew she would die soon, and could not but be inspired by her courage, her drive, her selflessness and her unstinting leadership in her last years.

“We will miss her terribly but in her spirit we will work to change the law so that the cruelty - her word - of those who let her suffer horribly will soon be a thing of the past.”

Ray Tallis, a retired professor of geriatric medicine and member of the HPAD steering group, said: “She was a woman of immense courage. An immensely gifted doctor who was passionate about communicating with patients and ensuring their choices were respected.”

The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-five died on Saturday.

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Dr McPherson, who was born in London but lived and worked in Oxford for the last 35 years, also worked with actor Hugh Grant to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer through the charity Healthtalkonline. Earlier this month the Hollywood star accepted the British Medical Journal’s Communicator of the Year Award on her behalf, along with her husband Klim McPherson.

She and Dr Aidan Macfarlane co-wrote the Teenage Health Freak series of books, which sold more than one million copies worldwide and were translated into 22 languages. The two doctors jointly ran a virtual online surgery for young people.

The GP was a former chair of the Royal College of General Practitioner’s Adolescent Task Group and a member of the last government’s Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group.