UK to consider ‘historic’ bill to legalise assisted dying
LONDON: Nine years after rejecting the similar proposal, UK Parliament has decided to consider a proposal to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults.
Here are the ten things you should know about the proposal on legalising assisted dying
- In recent years, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and some U.S. states have legalised assisted dying, or
euthanasia , in varying degrees. Labour Party lawmakerKim Leadbeater will present the legislation on October 16 to give terminally ill people a “choice” over end-of-life care and provide more protections for them and their loved ones.- While it does not have government backing, Prime Minister
Keir Starmer , whose Labour Party won an election in July, promised earlier this year to give lawmakers a free vote, meaning they won’t be ordered to vote in any particular way. It means that MPs would get a free vote as it is a matter of conscience. Downing Street has said it would not obstruct the bill and the government would likely support the MPs with drafting in the later stages. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said in a letter to ministers that they would also not be told how to vote. - The law would apply to England and Wales if passed through the full process of legislative scrutiny by both houses of parliament, which could take several months. Scotland’s devolved parliament is considering similar legislation.
- Research published by Savanta on Friday showed that Britons were more than twice as likely to support assisted dying rather than oppose it. Polling of 2,000 people showed 48% supported it, 21% opposed it, 22% say they neither support or oppose it and the rest don’t know.
- “I … strongly believe that we should give people facing the most unbearable end to their life a choice about what that end is like,” Leadbeater wrote in The Guardian newspaper. “This is a historic opportunity to bring about real change for dying people … The mood in Westminster has shifted dramatically, at last catching up with public opinion,” said Sarah Wootton, head of the campaign group
Dignity in Dying . - Proponents of assisted dying say public opinion on the highly emotive issue has been changing since lawmakers voted against a similar bill in 2015, and that mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or fewer left to live deserve to choose whether to end their lives.
- In 2015, UK Members of Parliament (MPs) voted on a bill introduced by Labour MP Rob Marris, which aimed to allow terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to be prescribed a lethal dose of drugs. The bill required individuals to self-administer the medication. The proposal was defeated in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 118.
- Charlie Falconer, the former justice secretary from the Labour party, has put forward an assisted dying bill in the
House of Lords . This bill is set to be debated in mid-November. - The issue gained public attention after
Dame Esther Rantzen , a renowned broadcaster, recently announced that she has lung cancer. In response to her diagnosis, she has joined Dignitas, an assisted dying clinic located in Switzerland.
(With inputs from Reuters)