Campaigners for and against assisted dying make feelings known at Westminster
Dame Prue Leith, Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, and the broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby, were among the high-profile figures supporting the Bill to change the law in England and Wales.
Members of the Dignity in Dying campaign wore pink and held placards in memory of friends and family members.
Those opposed to the Bill included groups dressed as scientists in white lab coats and bloodied gloves and masks, as well as nuns and other members of religious organisations.
The mood amongst campaigners was largely calm and respectful on both sides.
Dame Prue told the PA news agency she was 'both nervous and confident' about the outcome.
'It's so moving to see all these people with placards of people they've lost or people who are dying of cancer,' she said.
'It's hard not to cry because I think they have done such a good job. Let's hope we've won.'
Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, supporting the Dignity in Dying protest outside Parliament (Yui Mok/PA)
Mr Dimbleby said he believed the Bill would be 'transformative'.
He added: 'What it will mean is millions of people will be able to say to themselves, 'If I'm terminally ill, I will be able to choose, assuming I am of sound mind and I am not being coerced, to say 'Yes, I want to be assisted – I have dignity in death'.'
Rebecca Wilcox, the daughter of Dame Esther, said: 'It couldn't be a kinder, more compassionate Bill that respects choice at the end of life, that respects kindness and empathy and gives us all an option when other options, every other option, has been taken away, and it would just be the perfect tool for a palliative care doctor to have in their med bag.'
Teachers Catie and Becky Fenner said they wanted other families to benefit from the Bill.
Campaigners against the assisted dying Bill outside Parliament (Yui Mok/PA)
Their mother, who had motor neurone disease, had flown to Dignitas in Switzerland to end her life at a cost of £15,000. The sisters said they did not get to properly say goodbye and grieve and worried about the legal repercussions.
Catie, 37, said: 'We were left quite traumatised by the whole experience – not only seeing a parent go through a really horrible disease but then the secrecy of the planning.'
Campaigners against the Bill, who were gathered outside Parliament, chanted 'We are not dead yet' and 'Kill the Bill, not the ill'.
A display was erected with a gravestone reading 'RIP: The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Bury it deep', and behind were two mounds meant to resemble graves.
Andrew Hilliard, 75, said he was opposed for religious reasons. He was dressed in a white lab coat with a placard reading: 'Protect our NHS from becoming the National Suicide Service'.
The chief executive of Care Not Killing, Dr Gordon Macdonald, said MPs should prioritise improving palliative care.
He said: 'Most people, when thinking about the practical implications of this, for those most vulnerable, they change their minds.'
George Fielding, a campaigner affiliated with the Not Dead Yet group which is opposed to assisted dying, said he attended to represent disabled people.
He said: 'This Bill will endanger and shorten the lives of disabled people.'
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Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
NHS could face cuts under assisted dying law, warns Streeting
NHS services could face cuts to cover the cost of carrying out assisted deaths, the Health Secretary has warned. Under the Bill passed on Friday, the NHS will be expected to carry out the assisted dying procedures. Analysis suggests that implementation of assisted dying may cost the health service close to half a billion pounds within a decade, with each death costing the taxpayer more than £15,000. Assisted dying is set to be legalised in England and Wales after a historic vote saw it voted through by a majority of 23 MPs. However, Wes Streeting – who voted against the Bill – is understood to be deeply concerned about the impact it might have on an overstretched NHS. Speaking ahead of the vote, he warned: 'There isn't money allocated to set up the service in the Bill', while stressing that the Government would respect the decision of the House. Previously, he had warned there would be 'choices and trade-offs' to make, saying 'any new service comes at the expense of other competing pressures and priorities'. Last week, the Health Secretary said the NHS was 'in a fight for its life' as he described his mission to turn the service around. A number of MPs who opposed the Bill have raised concerns that assisted dying could take resources away from patients. On Tuesday, Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP who voted against the legislation, said it could become 'the Trojan horse that breaks the NHS', saying it would 'rob our stretched NHS of much-needed resources'. The impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill estimates that up to 28,317 people will die by state assisted suicide within the first 10 years of rollout. This rises from 647 in year one to more than 4,500 by 2038, and could mean costs of £429 million for the NHS over the decade. The spending includes educating all health and social care staff, training the doctors and nurses involved in the assisted dying service, setting up a regulator, as well as the costs of the lethal drugs themselves. Training staff is set to be the biggest cost – especially as the service is created. This could cost up to £35.5 million in the first year if all involved got the highest level of training available with no one opting out. There would then be recurring annual costs of between £10-22 million. Staff costs could reach £72 million over 10 years, with up to seven staff working for 32 hours per assisted death, it concludes. None of the calculations include the lost productivity and knock-on effects of the work the doctors are no longer able to carry out as a result. The impact assessment puts the cost of the drugs required at around £15 per person. However, independent experts have said it is highly likely to cost more. The Government also predicts a regulator and panel to assess cases would cost up to £13.6 million every year to run. The assessment suggests that overall, the Government could save money as a result of the earlier deaths, with overall savings of more than £640 million. Some of these savings could be made by the NHS. By 2038, health services could save up to £71.5 million a year on end-of-life care, because of the savings from not providing costly hospital care for cancer. Assisted dying is now on course to be available by 2029. Adults with a terminal illness and less than six months to live will be eligible under the new law. The law passed despite widespread opposition, with opponents raising concerns over the dropping of a requirement for a High Court judge to sign off on all assisted dying cases. Critics also warned that the law would 'normalise the choice of death over life, care, respect and love'.
Sky News
30 minutes ago
- Sky News
Assisted dying bill: People on both sides of the debate react to historic vote
People on both sides of the assisted dying debate have told Sky News how they feel about the outcome of today's vote – and while some are popping open champagne, others are "incredibly disappointed". More than 300 MPs this afternoon backed a bill that gives people in England and Wales who have less than six months to live the right to apply for an assisted death. Each request will be evaluated by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Today's historic vote means the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny before becoming law. Following the landmark vote, individuals for and against it have shared their feelings on the result. Frank Tate-Sutton - For 6:04 Frank Tate-Sutton is terminally ill and told Sky News she's relieved the bill has passed, even though the law won't be changed in time for her. "These are happy tears," she said. "I am emotional. It's a very difficult subject for everybody." Ms Tate-Sutton said her quality of life is "very important - and I'm losing it". "I don't want to die without dignity, without it being my choice, without my family knowing that this is what I want," she continued. "As much as they [my family] want me alive, do they want to see me lying in my living room in a hospital bed, taking all these drugs, not being able to talk, not being able to control my bodily functions? "That is not a life, for me - living on all the medications and not being able to exist without that… the side effects and everything." Mike Smith - Against 5:20 Mike Smith is a spokesperson for the disability rights group Not Dead Yet - and he has been left "incredibly disappointed" by the outcome of the vote. "This particular bill had so many failings in the way safeguards are constructed and the significant scope for coercion, whether it's overt or subliminal," he said. Mr Smith says he fears some people will "end up ending their lives earlier than they should do or want to". "There are so many disabled people around the country that have told us they're absolutely scared." "I think it's this inherent fear people have about being disabled that drives this very emotional response on this really complex topic," he explained. "What we know is, with good palliative care, social care, access to housing and an income, many disabled people ... can lead amazing lives." 6:48 Rebecca Wilcox and her TV presenter mother Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, have long been campaigning for a change to the UK's law on assisted dying. Speaking from Parliament Square as fellow supporters of the bill popped champagne behind her, Ms Wilcox described today's vote as "an extraordinary moment". "It means so much to me," she said. "I spoke to mum and her one word to describe it was 'wow'. "She didn't think she was going to live to see the debate, let alone a conclusion that went our way." In response to concerns about safeguarding, she said it will "bring in layer upon layer of safeguards". "We're going to have scrutiny upon scrutiny for every case and at the moment, there is no scrutiny," she said. "Coercion could be happening as we speak. "There is now protection for vulnerable people, by having this bill passed." Dr Gordon Macdonald - Against Dr Macdonald said the bill passing with a majority of 23 - less than half what its second reading achieved - is proof that "the more people have thought about this issue, the more they've had doubts". The doctor, who is the CEO of anti-euthanasia organisation Care not Killing, said: "We will see what happens when it gets to the [House of] Lords, the Lords will hopefully give it more rigorous scrutiny than happened in the Commons". His biggest concern is "for people who are vulnerable, who will feel pressure to end their lives". "That might come from external forces, but it's more likely to just be internalised pressure," Dr Macdonald said. "They'll feel they're a burden on their family and friends, conscious of the cost of care, and think they should do the decent thing, as they would see it in that thinking." It's "of course a terrible message for society to send out to people," he said.
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Assisted dying law closer but MPs' support narrows in historic vote
Kim Leadbeater described backing for her Bill in the Commons as 'a convincing majority', after the number was slashed from 55 in November to 23 on Friday. The Labour MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result, but hospices are among those warning of the 'seismic change' for end-of-life care. Staunch supporter Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill but has said a new law is unlikely to come in time for her, thanked MPs for doing their bit to protect terminally ill people from a 'bad death'. She told the PA news agency: 'This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death. 'Thank you, Parliament.' While 314 MPs voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading, 291 voted against. Some 14 MPs switched from voting in favour to against, while only one MP – Labour's Jack Abbott – switched from voting no to voting yes. The proposed legislation will now move to the House of Lords for further debate and votes, although one peer has already urged her colleagues they 'must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk'. Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, said instead work is needed to better fund access to 'desperately needed palliative care services'. Her sentiment was echoed by a range of end-of-life care organisations including Marie Curie, which said legalising assisted dying will make it 'more crucial than ever' for governments across the UK 'ensure that there is palliative care available for anyone who needs it'. Ahead of the vote, MPs approved a change to the Bill, which will require ministers to assess within a year of any new law coming into effect the quality and distribution of palliative care services currently available and the impact of an assisted dying service on them. The charity said while it welcomed the change, 'this will not on its own make the improvements needed to guarantee everyone is able to access the palliative care they need'. Ms Leadbeater said the vote result was one that 'so many people need', insisting her Bill has enough safeguards and will 'give dying people choice'. Asked about the narrower gap between supporters and opponents, Ms Leadbeater said she knew there would be 'some movement both ways' but insisted the vote showed a 'convincing majority'. She told reporters: 'The will of the House (of Commons) will now be respected by the Lords, and the Bill will go through to its next stage.' Acknowledging those who remain opposed to the Bill, she said she is 'happy to work with them to provide any reassurance or if they've got any questions about the Bill that they want to talk through with me, my door has always been open and remains open'. Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who opposes the Bill, said support 'is ebbing away very fast', telling of his disappointment the Bill passed but adding: 'The fact is, their majority's been cut in half.' Campaigners wept, jumped and hugged each other outside Parliament as the vote result was announced, while some MPs appeared visibly emotional as they left the chamber. Others lined up to shake hands with Ms Leadbeater, the Bill's sponsor through the Commons, with some, including Home Office minister Jess Phillips, stopping to hug the Spen Valley MP. Before a Bill can be signed into law, both the Lords and the Commons must agree the final text. Thanks to the four-year implementation period, it could be 2029 – potentially coinciding with the end of this Government's parliament – before assisted dying is offered. Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer remained supportive of the Bill, voting yes on Friday as he had done last year. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who had urged MPs to vote against the legislation, describing it as 'a bad Bill' despite being 'previously supportive of assisted suicide', voted no. During an hours-long date on Friday, MPs on both sides of the issue recalled personal stories of loved ones who had died. Conservative former minister Sir James Cleverly, who led the opposition to the Bill in the Commons, spoke of a close friend who died 'painfully' from cancer. He said he comes at the divisive issue 'not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance', and was driven in his opposition by 'concerns about the practicalities' of the Bill. MPs had a free vote on the Bill, meaning they decided according to their conscience rather than along party lines. The proposed legislation 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 a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
