Latest news with #ClareTurner
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Terminally ill criticise longer four-year timeframe for assisted dying service
A potential four-year wait for an assisted dying service to be up and running if a law passes in England and Wales has been branded 'unreasonable' by campaigners as terminally ill people said they need 'dignity, not delays'. The maximum time by which all parts of a new assisted dying law would have to come into force if a Bill being considered at Westminster is approved has been doubled after a committee voted in favour of extending the timeframe. If the Bill was to pass later this year that would mean it might not be until 2029, potentially coinciding with the end of this Government's parliament, that assisted dying was being offered. Claire Macdonald, director of pro-change group My Death, My Decision, said it is 'unreasonable that the Government would need four years to set up an assisted dying service', saying templates for training and guidance exist in other countries where it is legal so do not need to be developed 'from scratch'. When revealed last week, the change was described as a 'retrograde step' and 'outrageous' by two terminally ill supporters of legalising assisted dying. Mother-of-two Clare Turner, who has stage four cancer, said: 'Every delay means more suffering, more people forced to endure unbearable pain against their will.' She said she and others 'deserve dignity, not delays'. The new timeframe was voted through by a majority as the 23-member scrutiny committee held its last session, which sat into the early hours of Wednesday morning. Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the Bill, said she was proposing the longer timeframe 'with some reluctance' and acknowledged the upset felt by campaigners for change. She suggested the establishment of expert panels to consider assisted dying applications, in place of the High Court approval which was scrapped from the Bill in a significant change earlier this month, had contributed to more time being needed. 'Inevitably this will take longer to implement than simply referring cases to the High Court, an institution that already exists,' she told MPs. While stating that it is important to 'dedicate the necessary time' to implementing safeguards in the Bill, she also noted the 'upset and disappointment many people will feel as a result of a potentially longer commencement period'. She insisted the four-year timeframe is 'a backstop, it's not a target' as she pledged to 'hold the Government's feet to the fire' on implementing legislation should the Bill pass. Fellow Labour MP Jess Asato, who voted against the Bill when it was first put before all MPs in November, said the 'last-minute switch demonstrates again just how chaotic this whole process has been with substantial last-minute changes to core sections of the Bill'. She added: 'Putting an arbitrary timeline on such a complex issue was never a sensible way to make life or death legislation.' Tuesday's final committee session also saw the approval of the establishment of a voluntary assisted dying commissioner alongside three-member panels featuring social workers, psychiatrists and legal professionals to approve applications from terminally ill adults. Ms Leadbeater has faced criticism from opponents of assisted dying for scrapping a High Court judge safeguard, which had initially been hailed for making the Bill the strictest in the world. Speaking at the conclusion of the committee's last session, Ms Leadbeater said: 'Support for a judge-led multi-disciplinary panel came from experts who gave evidence and has received strong backing across all parties, including from committee members who were previously opposed to the Bill. 'We are not removing judges from this process. Rather, we are adding the expertise and experience of psychiatrists and social workers to provide extra protections in the areas of assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion while retaining judicial oversight.' It has been suggested some MPs who supported the Bill in the Commons in November could change their stance when it returns for a further vote in the coming months, after the change to the High Court safeguard. But Ms Leadbeater has claimed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, as amended, is now 'safer, fairer, and more workable'. A majority of committee members also approved new measures under the Bill, which would see assisted dying available free on the NHS. Ms Leadbeater said this would give choice to all but leading opponent Danny Kruger argued it fundamentally changes the principles on which the health service was founded. The Conservative MP said the NHS would, if the Bill passes into law, become the 'national health and assisted suicide service' as he accused those behind it of taking a 'red pen to Bevan's legacy', referring to the NHS's chief architect Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan. This exchange in the committee this morning goes to the heart of the Leadbeater Bill. A new clause, amending the 1946 Act, will change the NHS to the National Health and Assisted Suicide Service. And no, it's not just part of end-of-life care. — Danny Kruger (@danny__kruger) March 25, 2025 The two new clauses impose a duty on a Secretary of State in England and give power to ministers in Wales, where health is devolved, to ensure the provision of voluntary assisted dying services. Ms Leadbeater said it is 'crucial that the option of a voluntary assisted death remains part of a holistic approach to end-of-life care' and added that private provision should also be available. She told MPs: 'NHS trusts and ICBs (integrated care boards) may, as they already do, use private providers in some circumstances. 'This provides flexibility, which is important, but chair, what matters is that the safeguards and protections in this Bill will apply no matter where the service is supplied.' She added that the same requirements will apply to all medical practitioners that they 'cannot benefit financially or in any material way from the death of a person and can only receive reasonable remuneration for providing a service'.
The Independent
22-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Proposed four-year wait for assisted dying service ‘too long,' say campaigners
Campaigners have criticised a move to double the length of time before an assisted dying service would be functioning if a new law is agreed in England and Wales. The proposed change has been branded a 'retrograde step' and 'outrageous' by two terminally ill supporters of legalising assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is entering the final stages of committee scrutiny, before it is expected to return to the House of Commons for another vote by all MPs, possibly next month. As it stands, the legislation has an implementation period of two years after it is passed into law for all parts to come into force. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater - who is behind the Bill - has now put forward an amendment, expected to be debated next week, proposing to extend that to four years. Pro-change group My Death, My Decision said that is an 'unreasonable' amount of time. Mother-of-two Clare Turner, who has stage four cancer, said the proposed change is 'outrageous for terminally ill people like me'. She added: 'Every delay means more suffering, more people forced to endure unbearable pain against their will.' She said she and others 'deserve dignity, not delays'. In quotes released through the campaign group, fellow terminally ill cancer patient Tim Wardle said the proposed extension 'would be a retrograde step, contrary to the core intent and messages of the Bill – care and choice'. He said terminally ill people have 'waited far too long for this legislation' already and that 'even a slight delay beyond the two years currently proposed is not fair or reasonable'. Giving evidence to the committee earlier this year, England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said he thought two years 'seems a reasonable starting point' but that he does not believe there should be a 'firm deadline', with the focus instead on providing a 'safe, fair and secure service'. Meanwhile, opponents of the Bill have claimed legislation is being rushed through and has not been exposed to proper scrutiny. A group of experts, led by disability studies scholarDr Miro Griffiths from the University of Leeds, have written to MPs urging them to vote against a Bill they said is 'beset by issues'. The group highlighted the change earlier this month, which saw MPs on the committee vote to scrap the previously hailed requirement for a High Court judge to approve all assisted dying applications. They said the Bill is 'an altogether different and less robust piece of legislation as a consequence of its being removed'. Ms Leadbeater's proposals to instead establish a voluntary assisted dying commissioner – a judge or former judge – and expert panels featuring a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker who would decide on assisted dying applications, are expected to be voted on next week. In their letter to MPs, Dr Griffiths and other specialists in disability, law and medicine, wrote: 'In our view, Kim Leadbeater's Bill is beset by issues that would translate into serious public harm, should it be passed into law. We would urge you to reflect on the issues above and vote down the Bill at Third Reading.' Ms Leadbeater has insisted the amendments she has put forward will give her Bill 'additional patient-centred safeguards' by providing a 'range of expertise' via the three-member panel, which she said 'is a strength, not a weakness'. She said she had 'listened carefully' to expert evidence in January on concerns around the pressure on judicial resources if each case was to automatically go before the High Court, and on calls to involve psychiatrists and social workers in assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion.
The Independent
22-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Terminally ill say four-year timeframe for assisted dying service is too long
Campaigners have criticised a move to double the length of time before an assisted dying service would have to be up and running if a new law is agreed in England and Wales. The proposed change, put forward by the MP behind the Bill, has been branded a 'retrograde step' and 'outrageous' by two terminally ill supporters of legalising assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is entering the final stages of committee scrutiny, before it is expected to return to the House of Commons for another vote by all MPs, possibly next month. As it stands, the legislation has an implementation period of two years after it is passed into law for all parts to come into force. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has now put forward an amendment, expected to be debated next week, proposing to extend that to four years. Pro-change group My Death, My Decision said that is an 'unreasonable' amount of time. Mother-of-two Clare Turner, who has stage four cancer, said the proposed change is 'outrageous for terminally ill people like me'. She added: 'Every delay means more suffering, more people forced to endure unbearable pain against their will.' She said she and others 'deserve dignity, not delays'. In quotes released through the campaign group, fellow terminally ill cancer patient Tim Wardle said the proposed extension 'would be a retrograde step, contrary to the core intent and messages of the Bill – care and choice'. He said terminally ill people have 'waited far too long for this legislation' already and that 'even a slight delay beyond the two years currently proposed is not fair or reasonable'. Giving evidence to the committee earlier this year, England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said he thought two years 'seems a reasonable starting point' but that he does not believe there should be a 'firm deadline', with the focus instead on providing a 'safe, fair and secure service'. Meanwhile, opponents of the Bill have claimed legislation is being rushed through and has not been exposed to proper scrutiny. A group of experts, led by disability studies scholarDr Miro Griffiths from the University of Leeds, have written to MPs urging them to vote against a Bill they said is 'beset by issues'. The group highlighted the change earlier this month, which saw MPs on the committee vote to scrap the previously hailed requirement for a High Court judge to approve all assisted dying applications. They said the Bill is 'an altogether different and less robust piece of legislation as a consequence of its being removed'. Ms Leadbeater's proposals to instead establish a voluntary assisted dying commissioner – a judge or former judge – and expert panels featuring a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker who would decide on assisted dying applications, are expected to be voted on next week. In their letter to MPs, Dr Griffiths and other specialists in disability, law and medicine, wrote: 'In our view, Kim Leadbeater's Bill is beset by issues that would translate into serious public harm, should it be passed into law. We would urge you to reflect on the issues above and vote down the Bill at Third Reading.' Ms Leadbeater has insisted the amendments she has put forward will give her Bill 'additional patient-centred safeguards' by providing a 'range of expertise' via the three-member panel, which she said 'is a strength, not a weakness'. She said she had 'listened carefully' to expert evidence in January on concerns around the pressure on judicial resources if each case was to automatically go before the High Court, and on calls to involve psychiatrists and social workers in assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Terminally ill say four-year timeframe for assisted dying service is too long
Campaigners have criticised a move to double the length of time before an assisted dying service would have to be up and running if a new law is agreed in England and Wales. The proposed change, put forward by the MP behind the Bill, has been branded a 'retrograde step' and 'outrageous' by two terminally ill supporters of legalising assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is entering the final stages of committee scrutiny, before it is expected to return to the House of Commons for another vote by all MPs, possibly next month. As it stands, the legislation has an implementation period of two years after it is passed into law for all parts to come into force. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has now put forward an amendment, expected to be debated next week, proposing to extend that to four years. Pro-change group My Death, My Decision said that is an 'unreasonable' amount of time. Mother-of-two Clare Turner, who has stage four cancer, said the proposed change is 'outrageous for terminally ill people like me'. She added: 'Every delay means more suffering, more people forced to endure unbearable pain against their will.' She said she and others 'deserve dignity, not delays'. In quotes released through the campaign group, fellow terminally ill cancer patient Tim Wardle said the proposed extension 'would be a retrograde step, contrary to the core intent and messages of the Bill – care and choice'. He said terminally ill people have 'waited far too long for this legislation' already and that 'even a slight delay beyond the two years currently proposed is not fair or reasonable'. Giving evidence to the committee earlier this year, England's chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said he thought two years 'seems a reasonable starting point' but that he does not believe there should be a 'firm deadline', with the focus instead on providing a 'safe, fair and secure service'. Meanwhile, opponents of the Bill have claimed legislation is being rushed through and has not been exposed to proper scrutiny. A group of experts, led by disability studies scholarDr Miro Griffiths from the University of Leeds, have written to MPs urging them to vote against a Bill they said is 'beset by issues'. The group highlighted the change earlier this month, which saw MPs on the committee vote to scrap the previously hailed requirement for a High Court judge to approve all assisted dying applications. They said the Bill is 'an altogether different and less robust piece of legislation as a consequence of its being removed'. Ms Leadbeater's proposals to instead establish a voluntary assisted dying commissioner – a judge or former judge – and expert panels featuring a senior legal figure, a psychiatrist and a social worker who would decide on assisted dying applications, are expected to be voted on next week. In their letter to MPs, Dr Griffiths and other specialists in disability, law and medicine, wrote: 'In our view, Kim Leadbeater's Bill is beset by issues that would translate into serious public harm, should it be passed into law. We would urge you to reflect on the issues above and vote down the Bill at Third Reading.' Ms Leadbeater has insisted the amendments she has put forward will give her Bill 'additional patient-centred safeguards' by providing a 'range of expertise' via the three-member panel, which she said 'is a strength, not a weakness'. She said she had 'listened carefully' to expert evidence in January on concerns around the pressure on judicial resources if each case was to automatically go before the High Court, and on calls to involve psychiatrists and social workers in assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion.
