A prominent NHS surgeon provoked outrage after laughing when confronted about his past comments suggesting that 'sacrificing grannies' represented an acceptable price for legalising assisted dying.
Consultant neurosurgeon Dr Henry Marsh, 75, chuckled during a Human Rights Committee session on Wednesday while addressing his controversial 2017 remarks that had resurfaced during discussions about the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Controversial comments resurface
Tory Peer Lord Simon Murray directly challenged Dr Marsh during the parliamentary session, asking whether he stood by his previous statement that coercion cases would be justified by the 'greater public good' of having an assisted dying system.
Dr Marsh responded: 'In principle, yes. I know I made a very crass comment about "sacrificing grannies", I greatly regret it and I wish I hadn't said it.'
The neurosurgeon then added with apparent amusement: 'It was very stupid of me and I didn't realise it was going to get into the public domain.'
His laughter during the serious committee discussion immediately drew criticism from anti-assisted dying campaigners and observers.
Original comments revealed
The controversy stems from comments Dr Marsh made to the Sunday Times in 2017, where he expressed strong views about opposition to assisted dying legislation.
He had stated at the time: 'The contributions from the anti-euthanasia people the last time it was debated in parliament were abysmal. One bloody woman MP claimed the drugs were very unpleasant. That's a complete lie. So much of it is all bloody Christians.'
Most controversially, he had argued: 'They argue that grannies will be made to commit suicide. Even if a few grannies get bullied into it, isn't that a price worth paying for all the people who could die with dignity?'
Backlash and criticism
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, condemned Dr Marsh's behaviour during the committee session.
She stated: 'It was shameful that Dr Marsh did not retract his deeply inappropriate comment. Instead, he laughed, merely expressing regret that his comment made it into the public domain.'
Robinson added that his approach demonstrated 'utilitarian thinking where the protection that is owed to elderly people and sick and dying people is sacrificed for some alleged greater good.'
Former Downing Street adviser Nikki da Costa also criticised the remarks on social media platform X, writing: 'The cost of some people's choice is that others will die who do not want to.'
Barrister Barbara Rich questioned whether it was acceptable 'for influential people to privately advocate for a change in the law under which vulnerable people will foreseeably come to harm, and their only regret is that their thoughts are made public.'
The assisted dying bill progress
The parliamentary discussion comes as the House of Lords prepares to examine the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, with 942 amendments already tabled by peers ahead of the committee stage.
If the legislation passes all remaining stages in the Lords, it would then move to MPs for consideration of amendments before potentially receiving Royal assent.
The proposed bill would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and an expert panel.
Dr Marsh, who served as a senior consultant neurosurgeon at St George's Hospital in London for 40 years before semi-retiring, defended his position by comparing assisted dying to surgical risks.
He told the committee: 'The principle is there is always a cost. Every time I operated, and it was not a theoretical risk, you can make things worse but you justify that risk by saying more people benefit. It sounds rather inhumane and utilitarian, but that is the reality of normal medical practice.'
