“It is our job to address complex issues and make difficult decisions. And I know for many people this is a very difficult decision.
“But our job is also to address the issues that matter to people, and after nearly a decade since this subject was debated on the floor of the House, many would say this debate is long overdue.”
Leadbeater claimed that current law is “failing people”, and that MPs have a “duty” to fix it. She spoke about the harrowing experiences of terminally ill people and their families – including those of Gareth, whose father Norman shot himself after a painful battle with terminal cancer.
Gareth previously spoke to Big Issue about his family’s story, saying: “If assisted dying was an option in this country, I guarantee that he would have taken it. He wanted to carry on for as long as he could, and then he just wanted to end it.”
But there remain fears that without rigorous safeguards in place, legalising assisted dying could put vulnerable people at risk. Disability campaigners believe failures of the welfare state, palliative and social care system, and healthcare service make life unliveable – and could mean people will be “lining up in droves”.
Leadbeater claims that safeguards laid out in her bill are strong – she said “only adults who are dying will come within its scope” and she claimed it will not apply to elderly people, chronically ill people, disabled people and those with mental health conditions.
People must have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear wish, free from coercion or pressure; they must be expected to die within six months; and two independent doctors and a High Court judge must be satisfied the person is eligible.
However, those who oppose the bill say these safeguards are not stringent enough. Speaking against the bill, Labour MP Dianne Abbott said: “I am not against legalising assisted dying in any circumstance but I have many reservations about this bill and in particular, I do not believe that the safeguards are sufficient.
“They are supposed to be the strongest in the world because of the involvement of a High Court judge, but the divisional court have said the intervention of a court would simply interpose an expensive and time-consuming forensic procedure.”
Abbott added that the cut off of six months is “arbitrary” and that “robust safeguards for the sick and dying are absolutely essential” to protect people from their relatives, the state and from themselves.
She fears that there will be people who do not want to be a “burden” – financially or physically to their loved ones or to the NHS in taking up a hospital bed.
“I can imagine myself saying that in particular circumstances,” Abbott said. She added that she is concerned the NHS will become a “fully funded suicide service”, while palliative care services remain underfunded.
Phil Friend, convenor of Not Dead Yet UK, agreed, telling the Big Issue: “This is the wrong bill at the wrong time. That’s been recognised by MPs from across the political spectrum, including members of the cabinet, who have said they are voting against the proposed changes.
“Our focus should be fixing the health and social care systems that have been neglected for so long, not creating a new mechanism that supports people to die.”
Blair McDougall, MP for Scottish Labour, said he has “heard stories of disabled people who have had do not resuscitate put on their medical records” – indeed, the Big Issue recently reported on a man with a learning disability who doctors decided not resuscitate during the pandemic.
McDougall also said he has heard from disabled people who have been told they would be “better off dead”. Meanwhile, Labour MP Florence Eshalomi noted that people from Black and ethnic minority groups are more likely to suffer from poor health services – saying that “we should be helping people to live, in a comfortable way on their own terms, before we make it easier to die”.
“The risk of coercion will be highest for people from disadvantaged communities,” Eshalomi added. Her mother lived with chronic illness, Eshalomi said through tears, and battled pain but continued to live. She said “freedom in death is only possible if you have had freedom in life”.
Richard Burgon, who had the Labour whip removed for voting for to scrap the two-child limit on benefits, said he is concerned about “societal and systemic coercion” – such as elderly people wanting to spare their families the cost of care homes.
However, Leadbeater and supporters of the bill said that this would not apply and shared “examples of the heartbreaking reality and human suffering which far too many people are experiencing as a result of the status quo”.
“The public know this,” Leadbeater added. A YouGov study showed that almost three quarters (73%) of Brits believe that, in principle, assisted dying should be legal in the UK, compared to only 13% who say it should not.
Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell said he had “completely changed” his mind over assisted dying, adding that he had “tears pouring down” his face listening to constituents speak about how their father, mother or child has died “in great pain and indignity”.
Kit Malthouse, also a Conservative MP, said that a “vote against this bill today is not a passive act”. He dismissed claims that the bill should be rejected because it will be too costly and time-consuming for judges and the NHS, asking if he should be allowed to “drown in my own faecal vomit because it’s too much of a hassle for people to deal with”.
Many MPs raised stories about their own personal experiences of terminally il family members “facing excruciating agony”. Labour MP Alistair Strathern said: “There are many more people that will continue to suffer unnecessarily if we reject this bill.”
However, it also saw MPs opposing the bill share their own experiences of the healthcare system. Labour MP Meg Hillier spoke of her daughter’s admission to hospital with acute pancreatitis – and said that the NHS saved her and their family saw “what good medicine can do”.
This vote is not to legalise assisted dying, but rather to ensure that this bill gets another reading in parliament. Conservative MP David Davis said he will be voting for the bill, this time – if it moves towards more extreme approaches seen in Belgium or Canada, he will vote against, but he will vote for it if policies are similar to those in Australia.
Opponents believe that approving this bill now is a “slippery slope”. Canada first legalised medical assistance in dying (Maid) in 2016. In 2021, it was extended to people with no terminal illness and disabled people. In 2027, anyone with a serious mental health problem will also be eligible.
But Leadbeater said this bill will be “nothing like what happens in Canada” and “nothing like what happens in Belgium”.
MPs have voted for the bill to move to the next stage, and Leadbeater said that the committee of politicians on both sides of the debate will take oral and written evidence – which is “not normal procedure” but she said it will give “ample time for full consideration of the details, including amendments”.
Liberal democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said that currently the bill requires that an assessing doctor has any doubt as to the capacity of the person being assessed, they “may” – not “must” – refer the person for assessment. Leadbeater agreed that an amendment to this should be considered.
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