MPs to consider ‘dangerous and ideological’ assisted suicide Bill

The House of Commons is expected to vote on legalising assisted suicide in the coming weeks.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater is set to formally introduce her Private Member’s Bill on 16 October. Although the details have not been finalised, she said her proposals would allow those deemed to be terminally ill to receive help to kill themselves.

The Prime Minister has pledged to allow parliamentary time to consider a Private Member’s Bill on assisted suicide. The House of Commons last voted on the issue in 2015, when MPs overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to introduce assisted suicide by 330 votes to 118.

‘Horrific’

The Spen Valley MP claimed that people currently only have the option of a “very painful” death, travelling to Dignitas in Switzerland, or committing suicide.

But Dr Gordon Macdonald of Care Not Killing urged the Government to “focus on fixing our broken palliative care system”, rather than “discussing again this dangerous and ideological policy”.

He told LBC: “With the state of the NHS at the moment, and particularly palliative care, people will feel under pressure to opt for this just because they’re not getting the care that they need, and that’s just horrific, quite frankly, and it shouldn’t be seen as a way to solve the crisis in the NHS”.

He warned that if the law is changed, “thousands” may feel pressured to seek assisted suicide for financial reasons, depression, or fear of being a burden.

Dangers

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, former Paralympic star Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson highlighted that every jurisdiction that has introduced assisted suicide has implemented changes either through “legislation or through practice”.

She warned that groups like Humanists UK are already claiming the proposals do not ‘go far enough’.

Disability policy expert Dr Miro Griffiths commented: “When there are rigid circumstances you then have a situation where more and more campaigners will say ‘this doesn’t include me and I want to be eligible’, and as we’ve seen across the globe, you’ll then have pressure to expand criteria.

“Many disability campaigners have been arguing for dignity in life – now it seems we’re going to ignore that and focus on having ‘dignity in death’.”

Scotland

Earlier this week, the Scottish Government highlighted that Liam McArthur’s assisted suicide Bill is beyond the powers of Holyrood to legislate.

In a letter to the Scottish Parliament’s Health Committee, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Neil Gray said the Scottish Government is “maintaining a neutral position” on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, but it is currently “outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament”.

Under the proposals, those aged 16 or over who have been resident in Scotland for at least twelve months could get help from a medic to kill themselves if they are deemed to be terminally ill.

There are currently several attempts across the British Isles to legalise assisted suicide, including in the House of Lords, Jersey and the Isle of Man.