Mother Admits Killing Her Son, 7, with Morphine to ‘Remove' His 'Pain’ amid Stage 4 Cancer

• Antonya Cooper, of Abingdon, England, admitted to ending the life of her 7-year-old son Hamish in 1981 by giving him a “large dose of morphine”.
• Hamish was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was “in a lot of pain”, his mother told BBC Radio Oxford
• “My son was dealing with the most terrible suffering and intense pain, I wasn’t going to let him go through that,” Cooper said.

A mother in England has admitted to giving her 7-year-old son “a large dose of morphine” to “quietly end his life” amid his stage four cancer diagnosis.

While speaking to BBC Radio Oxford about wanting to change Britain’s assisted dying law, Antonya Cooper (77) recalled how more than 40 years ago, in 1981, she wanted to ease the pain of her son Hamish.

The boy was five years old when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and was initially given just three months to live, the BBC reported.

According to the World Health Organization, neuroblastoma is one of the most common types of cancer among children. It develops from immature nerve cells that are usually found near the adrenal glands, and can also appear in the kidneys, chest, neck and spine, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Hamish ended up undergoing 16 months of cancer treatment at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, but was in “full-on pain” as a result.

Cooper, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, said: “Hamish’s last night, when he said he was in a lot of pain, I said: ‘Do you want me to take the pain away?’ and he said, ‘Yes, please, mother.’ ”

“And through his Hickman catheter I gave him a large dose of morphine that quietly ended his life,” added Cooper, who is terminally ill herself.

A picture of a daughter supporting her terminally ill mother in the hospital.

Getty

It is currently illegal in England to help or encourage another person to end their own life, according to the British Parliament website.

Thames Valley Police said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they are “aware of reports relating to an apparent case of the assisted death of a seven-year-old boy in 1981.”

“At this early stage, the force is investigating these reports and is not in a position to comment further while the investigation is ongoing,” the statement added.

During an interview with the radio station, Cooper said “Yes,” when asked if she knew she was potentially confessing to murder or manslaughter.

“If it comes 43 years after I let Hamisha die peacefully, then I’d have to face the consequences. But they’d have to be quick, because I’m dying too,” she said, according to the BBC.

Per Time, Cooper was diagnosed with breast and pancreatic cancer. The disease also spread to her liver, the paper reported.

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Cooper added on whether she thought Hamish knew she was going to end his life: “I feel very strongly that the moment Hamish told me he was suffering and asked me if I could take away his pain, he knew, he knew somewhere that he would happen,” the BBC reported.

“But obviously I can’t tell you why or how, but I was his mother, he loved his mother, and I loved him completely, and I didn’t want to let him suffer, and I feel like he really knew where he was going,” she continued .

Cooper insisted: “It was the right thing to do. My son was dealing with the most terrible suffering and intense pain, I wasn’t going to let him go through that.”

“We don’t do that to our pets. Why would we do that to people?” she asked later.

Per TimeCooper — who went on to have four more children — helped launch the charity Neuroblastoma UK after Hamish’s death.

“40 years ago, in 1982, a group of bereaved parents came together and founded The Neuroblastoma Society. After losing their sons, Matthew Aldridge and Hamish Cooper, they wanted to help other children and families with neuroblastoma,” the website’s message reads.

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Source: HIS Education