Parents ‘wouldn't know about their child's assisted death until too late'

Telegraph

13-05-2025

Adults under 25 must not be able to end their lives by assisted dying without telling their parents, MPs have urged.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would allow those over 18 in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to end their lives, returns to Parliament on Friday.
All MPs will be able to debate changes to the legislation in the House of Commons for the first time since voting to legalise assisted dying in November, ahead of another vote.
Critics have expressed concern that there remains a lack of safeguards to protect vulnerable groups after MPs on the Bill committee examined it line by line and heard from experts.
MPs have put forward an amendment to the Bill that requires the next of kin to be informed if an adult under the age of 25 has their application for an assisted death approved.
The amendment tabled by Juliet Campbell, a Labour MP, says that 'where the person to whom the referral relates is under the age of 25', their 'next of kin' must be informed.
Rebecca Paul, a Conservative MP supporting the amendment, said that without it 'the first a family may know about the assisted death of their loved one is when they get the call to collect the body'.
Opponents to the Bill have highlighted that anorexia sufferers could access assisted dying.
Some disability charities have also raised concerns that vulnerable adults, such as those with learning disabilities, could be coerced into ending their lives.
Kim Leadbeater, the Bill's sponsor, announced in February plans to scrap the requirement for a High Court judge to sign off applications and replace it with an expert panel.
Ms Leadbeater said that the sign-off of an expert panel, made up of a psychiatrist, social worker and lawyer, would be an 'even stronger' safeguard.
But opponents have expressed concern that assisted dying panels will be able to hear evidence in secret at the applicant's request.
Ms Paul told The Telegraph: 'The current bill prioritises patient autonomy over everything else, and this can be seen in the absence of references to family and next of kin throughout the Bill.
'Right now, the first a family may know about the assisted death of their loved one is when they get the call to collect the body. There will be mothers and fathers out there that will get this call about their child if this Bill goes through without improvements to the process and safeguards.'
She added that the amendment 'will at least help protect young people, especially those with learning disabilities, by ensuring their families are aware before the drugs are administered'.
Rachael Maskell, a Labour MP supporting the amendment, said: 'If someone is not willing to discuss their death with their family, then it should be explored as to why.'
She added: 'Learning that a family member has had an assisted suicide in other jurisdictions has proved to cause significant trauma for those remaining. In some cases they were not aware of this possibility and it has left people with complex trauma.'
Eating disorder charities said they were 'extremely disappointed' when a proposal that would have prevented people with anorexia from being able to access assisted dying 'as a result of stopping eating or drinking' was rejected.
Eat Breathe Thrive, a US charity, told MPs that it had found that at least 60 patients had accessed assisted dying because of anorexia in jurisdictions where it is already legal.
Around a third of those who had died were in their teens or twenties.
Chelsea Roff, the charity's founder, told The Telegraph that the amendment would be a 'step in the right direction', as families often hold 'critical information' about a patient's condition that they may withhold from a doctor.
But she added that she felt the cut-off point of 25 felt 'arbitrary', adding: 'What about a 26-year-old, or a 29-year-old, or a 33-year-old?'
MPs voted 330 to 275 to legalise assisted dying last year, in a historic vote. The Government did not support or oppose the Bill, with MPs able to vote according to their conscience.
Sir Keir Starmer voted in favour of the bill, along with Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor. But Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister; Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary; and Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, all voted against it.
Since the last vote, Ms Leadbeater has also introduced a new rule that requires doctors to set out palliative care options during an initial discussion with a patient about assisted dying.
Speaking last week, she said elements that had been added to the legislation over the last few months 'have really enhanced the safeguards'.
Ms Leadbeater told the Hansard Society's Parliament Matters podcast: 'What I would struggle to understand would be colleagues who voted at Second Reading, who had got nervousness around safeguards, if they look at the Bill in detail, which I really hope they do, and I believe colleagues will do, they will see the things that have been added.'
It comes as Ms Leadbeater announced she was supporting an amendment that required an assessment of the 'availability, quality and distribution' of palliative care in England and Wales once the Bill is in force.
She said on Tuesday: 'I am fully committed to a holistic approach to end of life care and choice and that I am determined that if the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passes, it should be accompanied by improvements to palliative care in England and Wales, as has been the experience in other jurisdictions where assisted dying is already available as an option.'