Latest news with #terminallyIll
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
There is still time for amendments to be made to the assisted dying bill – but it deserves to pass
When the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its first stage in the House of Commons in November, The Independent agreed with the majority of MPs. They voted at second reading to approve the draft law in principle, while many of them had reservations about the terms of the bill and expected it to be improved when it was subjected to detailed scrutiny. In particular, we agreed with those who said that the safeguards against coercion needed to be strengthened, and that the requirement for a High Court judge to sign off on a decision to die was unworkable. To her credit, Kim Leadbeater, the Labour backbencher who is the sponsor of this private member's bill, has taken those concerns seriously and sought to allay them. Since November, the bill has been improved, as was confirmed in the Commons on Friday. The safeguards have been strengthened and the role of the High Court judge has been replaced by a panel including a lawyer, a social worker and a psychiatrist. This is a better and more workable arrangement, drawing on a range of relevant expertise, rather than a narrowly legal authority. No doubt the bill could still be improved further. We are worried, for example, that the Royal College of Psychiatrists said earlier this week that it could not support the draft law in its current form because, among other things, 'there are not enough consultant psychiatrists to do what the bill asks'. But this raises questions that are beyond the scope of the bill itself, and it would be wrong to block the bill on the grounds that it may not be possible for everyone who wants to use its provisions to do so. If assisted dying is right in principle, it is better that it is available to some rather than none. Among the amendments Ms Leadbeater accepted on Friday was one to exclude anorexia explicitly from the definition of a terminal illness. This is another welcome change. MPs also agreed amendments to ensure that there is no obligation on anyone, such as medical staff, to take part in a patient's decision to seek an assisted death; to prevent doctors from discussing the option of an assisted death with under 18s, unless the patient has raised it first: and to require the government to publish an assessment of the availability and quality of palliative and end-of-life care. These are all further improvements to the bill. That is not to say that it has now achieved a state of legislative perfection. We remain concerned, in particular, about whether the protections for people with mental illness are sufficient. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says that 'mental health services simply do not have the resource required to meet a new range of demands'. Ms Leadbeater should continue to try to meet the concerns expressed in good faith by the bill's critics. There is still time for further amendments to be made before MPs are asked to give their yes or no verdict on the bill next month – and it can then be amended further in the House of Lords. However, one of the striking contributions to the debate on Friday was made by Marie Tidball, the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge. As an MP with a disability – she was born with shortened limbs and a single digit on each hand – she said she had voted for the bill in November on the understanding that it would be strengthened and improved, and that she was now satisfied that it had been. Of course, the bill is not perfect, and never could be, because the subject is so difficult and the circumstances in each case will be different. Ms Leadbeater must continue to make it the best it can be, but those MPs who gave the bill a conditional vote of confidence in November can now safely send it on to its next stage in the upper house.
Irish Times
16-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Temperatures rise in UK's assisted dying debate amid claims of ‘chaotic' process
Supporters and opponents of the UK's landmark Bill to legalise assisted dying – known by its detractors as assisted suicide – gathered in different verdant corners of sunny Westminster on Friday as MPs debated inside the House of Commons. Those supporting a change in the law to allow terminally ill patients in England and Wales to seek medical help ending their own lives gathered beneath an array of bright pink banners on the lawns of Parliament Square. 'My dying wish is dignity,' they said. Around the corner, at the statue of King George V off Abingdon Street, opponents of the proposal struck a darker tone, holding mocked up headstones engraved with a warning about the apparent watering down of oversight of future assisted deaths: 'RIP – 'strictest safeguards in the world.'' Pink to support the right to die, and headstones for the sanctity of life. Therein was captured the incongruity of Britain's national conversation about the right, or otherwise, to an assisted death. Increasingly fraught and tetchy, the mood of the national debate was reflected inside the Commons chamber, as MPs grew frustrated as they ran out of time to speak. READ MORE It was originally thought MPs might get their final say on Friday on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which passed its crucial second reading in the Commons last November by 330 votes to 275. But there have been so many amendments proposed since, the speaker of the House, Lindsay Hoyle, has kicked the crucial vote out until at least June 13th, and possibly later. Even then, many MPs on Friday complained the Bill was being rushed through parliament without proper scrutiny. [ Assisted dying: Do we understand it properly? Opens in new window ] One Labour MP, Naz Shah, described the process as 'chaos . . . a disservice to parliament and our constituents. We shouldn't be playing games with people's lives like this.' She complained of only being told by Leadbeater that her amendment might be accepted when she arrived in the Commons that morning, leaving her no time to study the wording. Prime minister Keir Starmer's government is ostensibly neutral on the Bill, although everybody knows that he favours it. He has granted a free vote, meaning MPs are not party whipped and can vote with their conscience. As the government did not bring the Bill forward, it has been proposed as a private members' Bill by Labour backbencher, Leadbeater. This means, however, that it can only be scrutinised during the time set aside each week for private Bills, Friday mornings and afternoons until 2.30pm. Opponents say such a landmark proposal should have been proposed by the government, allowing it to be scrutinised at greater length during government time in the parliamentary week. Supporters, meanwhile, believe they still have the numbers to push it through the House. They must wait until next month to find out. [ Assisted dying: 'If I cannot consent to my own death, who owns my life?' Opens in new window ]
