Why the assisted dying bill could be voted down
The Bill, which previously passed its second reading with a 55-majority on principle, faces a very close vote, with predictions ranging from a narrow win to a narrow defeat.
If passed, the Bill would permit the state to end lives for terminally ill individuals with six months to live, allowing doctors to offer it as an option.
A significant change to the Bill removes the requirement for a judge to sign off, replacing it with an expert panel, a safeguard cited by over 100 MPs in earlier debates.
Concerns persist about the potential for the legislation to expand over time, with critics pointing to other countries where similar laws have broadened beyond terminal illness to include mental health and other issues.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Molly-Mae shares parenting struggle after Bambi bites another child at nursery
Molly-Mae Hague disclosed that her two-year-old daughter, Bambi, is part of a "biting pandemic" at her nursery. The influencer was informed by the nursery that Bambi has been biting other children. Hague expressed uncertainty about how to manage Bambi's behaviour, questioning whether to give her ice cream as a treat. She pondered if rewarding Bambi would encourage the behaviour or if drawing attention to it might be counterproductive, believing Bambi might be seeking a reaction. Watch the video in full above.
Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy says he's open to election in Ukraine, if safe
WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he was open to holding an election in safe circumstances if the war with Russia comes to an end. During a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Zelenskiy said, "We need to work in parliament because during the war you can't have elections," adding that it needed to be possible for people to have a democratic, open, legal election. Elections in Ukraine are currently suspended under martial law.
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
UK's first trans judge to challenge Supreme Court's landmark gender ruling using European human rights laws
Britain's first transgender judge has lodged an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman. Victoria McCloud is seeking a rehearing of the case as she claims the UK's highest court undermined her Article 6 rights to a fair trial when it declined to hear evidence from her. In April the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that 'woman' and 'man' refer to biological women and men in the context of the Equality act and that 'the concept of sex is binary'. Ms McCloud - who left her role as a judge last year - is seeking a review as she claims the Supreme Court refused permission for her to provide evidence on how its clarification of the law would affect trans people. But women's rights campaigners have dismissed the case as a 'fantasy' and say Ms McCloud should exhaust 'all domestic legal remedies' before appealing to the court in Strasbourg. The former judge will be represented by Oscar Davies, the UK's first openly non-binary barrister, and Olivia Campbell-Cavendish, the founder of the Trans Legal Clinic and the UK's first black trans lawyer. 'There is no space for decision-making about us, without us,' Ms McCloud said in a statement yesterday. 'I intend to ensure that there will be no peace for the gender-critical ideological movement, the Labour Government appeasing it, or space in our schools, homes and workplaces for an ideology which causes harm, misery and oppression of a small and law-abiding minority in our formerly tolerant country.' A spokesman for the Trans Legal Clinic said: 'For the trans community, it embodies a simple truth: there must be no more conversations about us, without us. 'At its heart lies the principle in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights; the right to a fair and impartial hearing by an independent tribunal. 'This cornerstone of democratic societies exists to guarantee that those whose rights are affected can take part in proceedings that determine their future.' However Maya Forstater, chief executive of human rights charity Sex Matters, said Ms McCloud's appeal is legally 'incomprehensible' and a 'fantasy'. She said: 'What we are being told about this proposed case is incomprehensible. The ECHR only hears cases that have exhausted all domestic legal remedies, and since McCloud wasn't a party to For Women Scotland in the Supreme Court, that's not the case here. 'It's a fantasy that someone can go straight to Strasbourg to complain that the Supreme Court in their own country didn't listen to them.' Ms Forstater added: 'This looks more like a deceptive and expensive PR campaign than a serious legal strategy.' The Supreme Court can consider outside arguments from 'interveners' at its discretion but rarely allows individuals to intervene and often rejects them if it will hear the same arguments from others. In the biological sex case, the UK's highest court did consider arguments on trans issues from the human rights campaign group Amnesty International. Susan Smith - from For Women Scotland, which brought the Supreme Court case - said that it is the Supreme Court's 'prerogative whether to accept interventions or not' and that it 'rarely takes interventions from individuals' 'We will watch with interest whether McCloud's application is accepted by the ECHR or even if it comes within the deadline to proceed,' she added. Ms McCloud transitioned in the 1990s and became the first transgender barrister and judge in the UK. She stood down last year, saying she could not continue her work amid the increasingly fraught public debate. In her resignation letter, Ms McCloud likened herself to civil rights activist Rosa Parks. It comes as Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was criticised for wearing a trans rights T-shirt with the slogan 'protect the dolls' while attending a Pride march in her Wigan constituency. Critics have said a government minister should not be promoting the slogan and described it as a 'middle finger from the Labour Government'. The term 'doll' is a slang term from the 1980s for biological men who 'pass' as women but has seen a revival after celebrities including Pedro Pascal, Madonna and Tilda Swinton were photographed in a £75 T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan. James Esses, a gender critical campaigner and therapist, said it was a 'middle finger from the Labour Government to everyone who believes in biological reality'. Fiona McAnena, from Sex Matters, said: 'No elected representative of the public - let alone a government minister - should be promoting the slogan of campaigners who are calling for men to be able to identify into any space for women'. The Culture Secretary was contacted for comment.
