Assisted suicide Bill published: ‘Rushed, arbitrary and set to expand’ say experts

People deemed to have less than six months to live will be put at risk of feeling pressured to kill themselves, under proposals to be debated by the House of Commons later this month.

Kim Leadbeater MP’s Bill seeks to legalise assisted suicide for ‘terminally ill’ adults, who are registered with a GP and have lived in England and Wales for at least twelve months. Two doctors and a High Court judge would have to approve an application.

Leadbeater is claiming that her proposals have “the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world”, but experts have highlighted that any attempt to remove end-of-life protections inevitably expands to endanger more categories of vulnerable people.

Arbitrary

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight programme, former palliative care professional Dr Gillian Wright said the Bill’s definition of terminal illness is “essentially an arbitrary criterion” as it can be hard to determine if someone has six months to live.

She warned that those who have nine or ten months to live could argue that “they would suffer more”, so the Bill actually “sets you up for extension because it will almost immediately be challenged”.

Dr Wright emphasised that the doctors and nurses she represents are “hugely concerned” about the Bill, which would “lead to pressure on those who are most vulnerable: the elderly, those who are frail, those who have chronic severe mental illness”.

‘Lies’

Dave Greatorex, The Christian Institute’s Head of Policy and Research, stated: “MPs must not swallow the lie that some people are better off dead. ‘Helping’ someone to kill themselves is never a compassionate response to those who are suffering.

“Instead of creating a society which can only offer hopelessness to the sick and infirm, everyone should be given the best possible medical care in line with their precious worth in God’s sight.”

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of the UK’s leading anti-assisted suicide group Care Not Killing, warned that the Bill is being “rushed with indecent haste and ignores the deep-seated problems in the UK’s broken and patchy palliative care system”.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger agreed, emphasising that the focus should be on palliative care, which should ensure that nobody dies “in unbearable, physical agony any more”.

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I’ve quickly digested the Leadbeater Bill, which was published this evening; I hope what follows reflects it accurately. The good news is we can stop this nonsense about ‘assisted dying’, ‘shortening death’ etc.

— Danny Kruger (@danny__kruger) November 12, 2024

Dignity and worth

Earlier this month, more than 3,400 doctors, nurses and other practitioners warned the House of Commons against removing end-of-life protections for the vulnerable.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister organised by campaign group Our Duty of Care (ODOC), the signatories emphasised that the “shift from preserving life to taking life is enormous and should not be minimised.

“The prohibition of killing is present in all societies due to the immeasurable worth and inherent dignity of every human life. The prohibition of killing is the safeguard. The current law is the protection for the vulnerable.”