Coronation Street is raising awareness of MND and assisted suicide with Paul storyline
Credit: X: Coronation Street
Since 2002, more than 550 UK citizens have made the difficult decision to travel to Switzerland to end their days with dignity at Dignitas, one of the multiple Swiss assisted dying centres.
Even then, the person must travel alone as assisting a person to take their own life is illegal in the UK. Therefore, people who accompany others abroad could face up to 14 years in prison.
It is no wonder then, that the UK Government is being urged to debate this issue and introduce a compassionate law of their own so that fewer people have to face dying without their loved ones in a foreign country.
Coronation Street not first soap to tackle assisted suicide
It seems that ‘soap opera land’ also wants to highlight this important topic through a character storyline in Coronation Street. With an average of five million viewers per episode, this is undoubtedly a way to bring the subject to the forefront of people’s minds.
While this is not the first time a soap has covered this topic, both Eastenders and Emmerdale have had their own emotional storylines over the years, and even Hollyoaks touched on the subject, albeit with a softer approach.
Who can forget that powerful episode of Eastenders in which Dorothy Branning assists her closest friend, Ethel Skinner, in ending her own life the way that she wanted to? In this storyline, Dorothy, a religious woman, has to weigh up her religious beliefs against her loyal devotion to her friend of many years.
Paul s MND and assisted suicide storyline in Coronation Street
Moving back to the present, Coronation Street has chosen to highlight Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and just how crippling an illness it can be as the symptoms worsen and the sufferer deteriorates. This story is being told both through the eyes of Paul Foreman, who wishes to be assisted to die before the illness reaches its natural conclusion, and Billy Mayhew, his partner, who is being asked to honour his wishes.
It is an illness that is rarely depicted on TV, but with the support of the MND Association, Paul’s story has been told carefully and sensitively over a long period of time. So much so that many took to social media to comment on the most recent heart-wrenching episode in which Paul decided it was ‘time’.
As @jamp1982 shared, “This scene broke my heart, and I’m not prepared for what’s going to happen eventually; I don’t think I can face it.”
Organisation welcomes assisted suicide storyline in Coronation Street
One organisation that welcomes this storyline and the awareness that it is creating of this key issue is My Death, My Decision. According to their website, they are urging the UK government to stop exporting compassion for people suffering unbearably to Switzerland by introducing an assisted dying law in the UK.
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death, My Decision said, “Some of our members will be watching and reliving their own experiences. I would encourage every MP to watch this storyline and wake up to the reality of the difficult choices faced by people who are suffering unbearably from MND and other incurable conditions.”
Over to you – Is Coronation Street and the other soaps right to air this type of story or are some subjects just too sensitive that that they should be off-limits?
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