Assisted dying approved in England and Wales
The legalization of assisted dying was approved this Friday in the UK parliament, allowing those with terminal illnesses with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a panel of experts, including a social worker, a senior lawyer and a psychiatrist.
This new law requires anyone seeking assisted dying to be 18 or over, have “the mental capacity to make the choice” and be “considered to have expressed a clear, decided and informed will, free from coercion or pressure”, according to the BBC .
The bill, tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and supported by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was approved by 314 MPs to 291. Despite the support of the Prime Minister, the government was deeply divided. Nine ministers voted in favour, but another six voted against.
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At the opening of the debate before the vote, the deputy who proposed the law argued that the diploma aims to resolve “the profound injustices of the status quo and offer a safe choice and compassion to people with terminal illnesses who wish to make it”.
“We have a system where it is legal to starve yourself to death, which can take days or weeks, but it is not legal to seek help from a doctor to take an approved substance to end your pain or suffering and regain control in your final days,” Leadbitter insisted.
In response, Conservative MP James Cleverley explained that he opposed the bill because the right number of safeguards had not been met and cited concerns from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which said the new law “does not meet the needs of patients”.
“We know there is a strong association between the desire to hasten death and depression, and there is no adequate opportunity in the Bill to assess someone’s needs and also to ensure those needs are met, which can have an impact on their continued desire to end their life,” Annabel Price, a barrister specialising in assisted dying law, told Sky News .
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