Latest news with #EndofLife)Bill
New Statesman
16-05-2025
- Health
- New Statesman
The assisted dying debate takes a sour turn
`illustration by Getty If there was a single moment that encapsulated the latest stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, it was surely when MPs cleared the lobby to vote – not on any of the amendments that had been argued about over the gruelling four and a half hours, but on whether or not to vote on them at all. In this great act of meta-democracy, MPs determined that they would in fact proceed to a vote. By then, there was time to consider just two amendments.. The mood on this sunny Westminster Friday could not have been more different from when MPs voted on the second reading of Kim Leadbeater's Private Member's Bill on assisted dying back in November. Back then, the question was a matter of principle, and the atmosphere was one of gracious respect and emotive compassion. MPs chose to progress the legislation by 330 votes to 275 – many of them, to quote the words of Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, on the basis that they 'want to keep talking about the issues'. Today was about hammering out the details. Although, as quickly became apparent, those details are far from being hammered out. The bill's passage through committee stage has been contentious, marred by accusations on everything from the ideological make-up of the committee to the witnesses called to the nature of the amendments accepted – about 150, out of over 500 proposed. Committee members, most notably the Labour MP Naz Shah, have openly voiced their misgivings on procedural grounds. That was the main thrust of today's debate. 'This process is flawed, fundamentally flawed,' a visibly furious Shah told the House, to the loudest chorus of affirmative here-heres of the day. 'This is not how we make legislation.' The practicalities were debated, of course. On the agenda today were amendments regarding provision (or not) for patients suffering from eating disorders, how the decision-making process would work in relation to the mental capacity act, whether to allow doctors to bring up assisted dying with terminally ill patients who have not mentioned it themselves, and how to identify and prevent situations of coercive control. Florence Eshalomi, one of the most powerful speakers during first reading, gave another passionate warning regarding the potential impact on minority communities who are already fearful of the medical establishment. Mother of the House Diane Abbott nodded along. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, while neutral on the principle, said this week that it could not support the legislation in its current form. This intervention was repeatedly cited today. So too was the controversial decision to remove the safeguard of sign-off from a High Court judge in favour of a panel of experts. It was argued that the version of the bill currently before MPs was weaker rather than safer than November's. But if the motif running through the second reading debate was of MPs putting aside party differences to examine the philosophical, ethical and legal issues. Today the frequent refrain of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker was: 'We are very short of time'. MPs were first requested to keep their contributions to under 15 minutes; as the hours ticked on, this was shortened to five. Again and again speakers declined to take points of order, on the basis that they had no time. The vast majority of MPs wishing to speak were denied the opportunity. In November Kieran Mullan said in his closing remarks for the opposition that the debate had represented 'this House at the very best'. He was challenged in his statement today as to whether he still believed that. His reflection that 'We are where we are' sums up the feelings of many exhausted MPs. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Perhaps the sourness of today's performance reflects the messy reality of legislating on literal issues of life and death. There are those on both sides of the chamber who believe a private members bill was the wrong vehicle for a question of this gravity – equally, others believe the government could have done more to smooth the bill's passage. But there is also a view that, whatever the process, there was always going to come a crunch point when lofty sentiments about democratic debate dissolved into the inevitable tug-of-war between opposing camps. Time was always going to run out at some point. No one likes to see how the sausage gets made. In the end, only two amendments were voted on: the first, put forward by Leadbeater herself, regarding guarantees that doctors would not be forced to provide assisted dying, and the second, put forward by opponent of the bill Rebecca Paul, on extending this protection to institutions wanting to opt out. The former passed; the latter – considered the clearest indication from today about the bill's future – failed by majority of 279 to 243. When it comes back before the House on 13 June, it looks likely there will still be a majority of MPs in favour. [See more: Keir Starmer can rewrite the history of Brexit] Related
Glasgow Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Care homes and hospices must have right to opt out of assisted dying, MPs hear
Demonstrators gathered outside Parliament as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill came back to the Commons for the first time since a historic yes vote in November saw a majority of MPs support the principle of assisted dying. Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill and is one of the most high-profile backers of the Bill, appealed for MPs to vote for what she termed a 'crucial reform'. She urged them to change the law 'as so many other countries have, not for me and for those like me who are running rapidly out of time, but for future generations to have the right if necessary, not to shorten their lives, to shorten their deaths'. Dame Esther also suggested many MPs opposed to the Bill have 'undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy them'. But Labour's Jess Asato criticised the Childline founder's comments as 'distasteful and disrespectful'. Opponents have argued the Bill does not have enough safeguards and has been rushed through, with two royal medical colleges voicing their doubts on the legislation in its current form. Among those opposed to the Bill, Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson – who would have a vote on the Bill should it make its way to the Lords – has argued the Bill has 'not been made safer', criticising the scrapping of the much-lauded High Court safeguard in favour of expert panels. Other changes made to the Bill – which concerns only England and Wales – in recent months during a weeks-long committee process include the timeframe in which an assisted dying service might come into effect being doubled to four years from royal assent. In its current form the Bill would mean terminally ill adults with only six months left to live could apply for assistance to end their lives, with approval needed from two doctors and the expert panel. Kim Leadbeater is the MP behind the assisted dying Bill (Jordan Pettitt/PA) It is possible this part of the parliamentary process, known as the report stage, will run into a second day next month, meaning a vote on approval or rejection of the overall Bill would not take place on Friday. Bringing her Bill back to Parliament, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said assisted dying must be legalised to avoid terminally ill people acting out of desperation or making 'traumatic' trips to Switzerland. As Friday's session – which could last for up to five hours – opened, she told MPs gathered in the Commons: 'Put simply, if we do not vote to change the law, we are essentially saying that the status quo is acceptable.' Referring to stories she had heard of people dying in 'deeply difficult and traumatic circumstances', she added: 'Too many have seen their terminally ill loved ones take their own lives out of desperation, or make the traumatic, lonely and costly trip to Switzerland, and then face a police investigation while dealing with their grief and loss.' Following a Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) statement this week on its 'serious concerns' including on numbers of psychiatrists available to sit on panels assessing a terminally ill person's application, Ms Leadbeater told MPs said she 'wouldn't anticipate any problems' on staffing. Dame Esther Rantzen said she remains a strong supporter of the assisted dying Bill (Esther Rantzen/PA) Amendments being discussed on Friday included ensuring care homes and hospices can decide whether or not to be involved in assisted dying and that their funding would not be affected based on their decision. Conservative MP Rebecca Paul, who tabled both amendments, said they 'provide important protections' which she argued 'are currently lacking in the Bill'. She told MPs: 'Whether you're in favour of assisted dying or not, we must preserve the rights of organisations, companies and charities to choose whether to offer it. They must never be bought into it by public funding being conditional on the provision of assisted dying.' Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh used his speech to express the views of a care home manager who spoke of the 'unworkable nature of individual exclusion from the processes of assisted dying in social care environments' Quoting the care home boss, he said: 'Specific exclusion of the care home sector should be a feature of the Bill. In any case, organisations and sites should and must be given the ability to exclude themselves from the act of assisted death.' Elsewhere, Labour's Dame Meg Hillier spoke of her concern that patients could 'feel pressured into ending their lives' if doctors are able to raise the prospect of assisted dying with patients first in a conversation. Dame Meg has urged MPs to support her amendments which would mean that could not happen, and that health professionals could not raise the topic with under-18s. She said the issue is 'a very difficult thing for a lot of people to understand, but particularly for young people' and warned of adolescents being 'more likely to take risks'. Campaigners opposed to the assisted dying legislation demonstrate outside the Palace of Westminster in London, ahead of the Bill's report stage (Rosie Shead/PA) Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood said there was additional danger presented by social media on the topic, telling the Commons she had heard 'almost all of our young people across the UK are having their mental health impacted by social media'. She said: 'If we throw this into the mix, this has the potential to do untold damage.' But Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine suggested patients not being given 'all the options' by medical professionals could see them, particularly young people who might be active on social media, tempted to search online for their own information. She said: 'The automatic reaction is to go and Google everything, in fact we all do it … the danger is if they are not told all the options, if they are not given the guidance that's available, then they will go to Google and what we will see is yet more of the dangerous suicide attempts that we see at the moment.' The Government is neutral on the Bill and any votes MPs make are according to their own conscience rather than along party lines.
Western Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Health
- Western Telegraph
Dame Esther Rantzen ‘terrified' her family could be traumatised by her death
Rebecca Wilcox, the daughter of the terminally-ill broadcaster and Childline founder, was among demonstrators who gathered outside Parliament on Friday morning ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Campaigners from both sides of the debate were present, with those opposing the law change holding placards reading 'assist us in living not dying' and 'kill the Bill not the ill', while posters held by supporters of the Bill included slogans such as 'my dying wish is autonomy' and 'my dying wish is humanity'. Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Wilcox said of her mother: 'She believes in compassion and kindness, she has campaigned for that in various forms. Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of Dame Esther Rantzen, joined campaigners supporting the Bill (Ben Whitley/PA) 'She's campaigned for that for children, she's campaigned for that for old people – now this campaign is about the end of our lives.' Ms Wilcox said she was fearful her mother, who has cancer, would have a 'traumatic death', adding: 'I don't want to witness that, she doesn't want us to witness that. 'She's terrified that our memories of her – and they are such good memories – will be destroyed by a bad death, and so she's asking for choice for everybody. 'Unfortunately, it won't be in time for her.' In a statement, Dame Esther urged MPs to support the Bill and said: 'All we terminally-ill adults ask of our MPs is to remember how much suffering our current messy cruel criminal law creates. 'How many lonely painful deaths. How many suicides. How many agonising memories have been created by it. 'We all hope for a good, pain-free death for ourselves and those we love and care for. Campaigners opposing the proposed assisted dying legislation also gathered on Friday (Rosie Shead/PA) 'Please vote for this crucial reform, as so many other countries have, not for me and for those like me who are running rapidly out of time, but for future generations to have the right, if necessary, not to shorten their lives, to shorten their deaths.' Baroness Ilora Finlay, who sits in the House of Lords and is a former palliative medicine consultant, said amendments proposed to the Bill felt like a 'muddle and a mess'. She said: 'It feels really dangerous because there are loopholes in it, things which have not been thought through. 'I know there are amendments down to try to address some of those, but we don't know whether they will be taken in the Commons procedure and I think it could potentially fundamentally change the whole role of doctors towards their patients in a very adverse way, and actually it won't solve the problem of people having bad deaths.' She added: 'The test for mental capacity is tremendously inadequate, because you need to have capacity for the decision you're taking, not just overall, for other decisions in life, like where you're going or what you're wearing or what you're eating. 'This is an enormous decision and, importantly, the most difficult time for people is at the time that they get a devastating diagnosis and they need support, and they need clinicians who can communicate well with them. 'This Bill addresses nothing like that.' Instead of assisted dying, Baroness Finlay said that improvements need to be made to palliative care. Demonstrators opposing the assisted dying legislation have argued that improvements should be made to palliative care (Rosie Shead/PA) 'We need to improve care everywhere for everyone who's terminally ill and who's facing difficult times, and we can do that much more cost effectively,' she added. Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said assisted dying was 'really dangerous'. 'People are not articulate, people are not used to making decisions for themselves,' he said. 'Once you put assisted suicide or euthanasia into medicine, which is what's being proposed, there are lots and lots of vulnerable people at a huge risk of pressure or abuse, perhaps, by partners or, alternatively, just feeling a burden. ' Those opposing the Bill were joined by actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is currently at report stage – where MPs will debate and vote on various amendments. It is the first time the Bill is returning to the Commons since it passed second reading in a historic vote in November, when MPs supported it by a majority of 55.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dame Esther Rantzen ‘terrified' her family could be traumatised by her death
Dame Esther Rantzen is 'terrified' her family's memories of her will be tainted if she suffers a 'traumatic death', her daughter has said. Rebecca Wilcox, the daughter of the terminally-ill broadcaster and Childline founder, was among demonstrators who gathered outside Parliament on Friday morning ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Campaigners from both sides of the debate were present, with those opposing the law change holding placards reading 'assist us in living not dying' and 'kill the Bill not the ill', while posters held by supporters of the Bill included slogans such as 'my dying wish is autonomy' and 'my dying wish is humanity'. Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Wilcox said of her mother: 'She believes in compassion and kindness, she has campaigned for that in various forms. 'She's campaigned for that for children, she's campaigned for that for old people – now this campaign is about the end of our lives.' Ms Wilcox said she was fearful her mother, who has cancer, would have a 'traumatic death', adding: 'I don't want to witness that, she doesn't want us to witness that. 'She's terrified that our memories of her – and they are such good memories – will be destroyed by a bad death, and so she's asking for choice for everybody. 'Unfortunately, it won't be in time for her.' In a statement, Dame Esther urged MPs to support the Bill and said: 'All we terminally-ill adults ask of our MPs is to remember how much suffering our current messy cruel criminal law creates. 'How many lonely painful deaths. How many suicides. How many agonising memories have been created by it. 'We all hope for a good, pain-free death for ourselves and those we love and care for. 'Please vote for this crucial reform, as so many other countries have, not for me and for those like me who are running rapidly out of time, but for future generations to have the right, if necessary, not to shorten their lives, to shorten their deaths.' Baroness Ilora Finlay, who sits in the House of Lords and is a former palliative medicine consultant, said amendments proposed to the Bill felt like a 'muddle and a mess'. She said: 'It feels really dangerous because there are loopholes in it, things which have not been thought through. 'I know there are amendments down to try to address some of those, but we don't know whether they will be taken in the Commons procedure and I think it could potentially fundamentally change the whole role of doctors towards their patients in a very adverse way, and actually it won't solve the problem of people having bad deaths.' She added: 'The test for mental capacity is tremendously inadequate, because you need to have capacity for the decision you're taking, not just overall, for other decisions in life, like where you're going or what you're wearing or what you're eating. 'This is an enormous decision and, importantly, the most difficult time for people is at the time that they get a devastating diagnosis and they need support, and they need clinicians who can communicate well with them. 'This Bill addresses nothing like that.' Instead of assisted dying, Baroness Finlay said that improvements need to be made to palliative care. 'We need to improve care everywhere for everyone who's terminally ill and who's facing difficult times, and we can do that much more cost effectively,' she added. Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said assisted dying was 'really dangerous'. 'People are not articulate, people are not used to making decisions for themselves,' he said. 'Once you put assisted suicide or euthanasia into medicine, which is what's being proposed, there are lots and lots of vulnerable people at a huge risk of pressure or abuse, perhaps, by partners or, alternatively, just feeling a burden. ' Those opposing the Bill were joined by actor and disability campaigner Liz Carr. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is currently at report stage – where MPs will debate and vote on various amendments. It is the first time the Bill is returning to the Commons since it passed second reading in a historic vote in November, when MPs supported it by a majority of 55.
Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Esther Rantzen's daughter makes final desperate plea - 'Give mum peace of mind'
Dame Esther Rantzen has been at the forefront of the assisted dying debate since revealing her own terminal cancer diagnosis in 2023 Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter has begged MPs to give her dying mother 'peace of mind' as they prepare to vote on the assisted dying bill later today. Rebecca Wilcox, 45, said her 84-year-old mother, who has stage four lung cancer, will be watching and is 'hopeful' the new law will be passed. MPs will debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - spearheaded by Labour's Kim Leadbeater - for the first time since November's yes vote. If it becomes law, it will allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales - with fewer than six months left to live - to apply for an assisted death. In late 2023, Dame Esther revealed her terminal cancer diagnosis and expressed her wish to end her own life at Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas - where the practice is legal - if things got too much. A message reportedly sent to MPs by Dame Esther ahead of today's debate said that changing the law would allow terminally ill people like her 'not to shorten their lives, but shorten their deaths'. She has since been taking what her family described as a 'wonder drug'. But her daughter shared the drug has now appeared to have stopped working and Dame Esther is too unwell to travel. Though the law will be passed 'too late' for her own mum to end her life legally should she want to, her family are hopeful 'she may have enabled it to happen for other people'. READ MORE: Esther Rantzen's husband whispered final two-word statement to her before dying Rebecca told the Express: "She's going to be watching the debate and is very interested to see how it turns out, and hopeful. Mum has been indomitable her whole life, this shouldn't have to be her campaign. She should have peace of mind, she should know that whatever happens, she has a choice at the end of her life. That is not going to happen for her. The only bright spot in that for us is that she may have enabled it to happen for other people. And I'm going to keep going for as long as it takes." The TV host, who is a broadcaster like her mother and regularly appears on shows like Watchdog, admitted she was 'living in a place of absolute denial' about her mother's illness, but said she found comfort that 'something good' could still come from all of their campaigning. Praising her mother's previous work with various charities and setting up children's helpline Childline, Rebecca said her mum's legacy was 'already clad in platinum', but helping to legalise assisted dying would be 'another diamond on top of it.' She added: "She has never stopped working for people she feels need to be listened to and voices that need to be heard. This is a brilliant campaign. I can't describe the bravery and strength, power and beauty of the people that I have met, who have lost loved ones or who are facing a terminal diagnosis themselves. Their strength and courage — if we can bring a voice to that then we have done our job." As the historic vote takes place today, campaigners for and against assisted dying are expected to be watching the debate from the public gallery of the House of Commons. Among them will be Louise Shackleton, who took her husband Anthony, 59, who had motor neurone disease, to Diginitas in Switzerland to die in December. Louise, 58, from North Yorkshire, is now being investigated by the police. Explaining her stance on it, told The Mirror: "We as human beings need to treat humans as well as we treat animals. If I was to have kept a dog the way that I was going to be expected to keep my husband, I would have been arrested, I would be prosecuted, I would be put in prison and I would be banned from keeping an animal again. But yet my husband was expected to suffer more than any other animal." Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who voted in favour of assisted dying during the first Commons vote last year, signalled he still backed a change in the law. It is thought he will vote that way again after he said: "From my own experience in this field - I dealt with it when I was the chief prosecutor - is that I do understand there are different views, strongly held views on both sides that have to be respected. My views have been consistent throughout."
