A law on assisted dying in England and Wales could be passed next year after Labour MP Kim Leadbeater announced they will table a private member’s bill on the issue in Parliament.
Keir Starmer announced ahead of the election that he would allow time in the Commons for a free vote on assisted dying at some point in the next Parliament after a campaign by TV presenter Esther Rantzen.
Assisted dying is the process of giving someone medical assistance to end their life, typically if they have a terminal illness, and is already legal in many countries including Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and parts of the United States.
On Thursday, Leadbeater, MP for Spen Valley, confirmed that she will introduce the Choice at the End of Life Bill to the Commons after being drawn first in the ballot for Private Member’s Bills (PMBs).
Her Bill is guaranteed time for debate in the Commons after she topped the PMB ballot, which gives her priority on a Friday sitting.
MPs are often given free votes – when they are not required to vote along party lines – on contentious issues or those involving matters of conscience.
They are also often presented to Parliament by MPs rather than by the Government, as was the case with the legislation to decriminalise abortion and homosexuality in the UK.
What does the bill say?
Ms Leadbeater has said that the new legislation “builds on best practice from assisted dying laws overseas, insights from the House of Commons Select Committee Inquiry published earlier this year, and previous proposals”.
The Bill will reportedly bring in “practical measures to assess eligibility, ensure rigorous medical and judicial oversight, and robustly monitor every part of the process” when it comes to assisted dying.
The exact details of the legislation are yet to be revealed, but a similar bill which failed to pass in 2015 proposed that someone could seek assisted dying if they were an adult, were reasonably expected to die within six months, and if two doctors approved the process.
These requirements were also replicated in another bill proposed earlier in the Lords by Labour peer Charlie Falconer.
If legislation is passed to legalise assisted dying, it is not clear when it would come into force. However, it is expected there will be an implementation period before British citizens can access it.
How likely are MPs to pass it?
The last time MPs voted on legislation to legalise assisted dying in 2015 it did not pass.
329 MPs voted against and 117 voted in favour, while a further 200 did not vote.
However, public support for assisted dying has been growing in recent years, and over 200,000 people signed a Commons petition earlier this year calling for MPs to debate legalising the process.
The bill will be introduced on 16th October for its first reading which is a formality. It will then likely get a second reading as Leadbeater came first in the ballot for PMBs. A third reading – after which it becomes law – will depend on the government allowing time for a vote. The Prime Minister has pledged to do this during his first term in office.
It is possible the Prime Minister could delay this promise to another session, but this is unlikely considering he pledge.
This means MPs could vote to make assisted dying law before the end of 2025. However, that does not mean it would become legal immediately. There is likely to be a long delay before implementation to allow for preparation and the necessary “safeguards with teeth” he has promised to be formulated.
What is the current law on assisted dying?
It is currently illegal in the UK for an individual to assist or encourage someone to end their life Suicide Act 1961, and anyone found to do so could be prosecuted for murder or manslaughter.
This includes if a British citizen assists someone in travelling to another country to end their life, or if either an individual or doctor procures medication to help someone end their life.
But parts of the UK are already considering legalising assisted dying, with a bill on the matter currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament.
The Crown Dependency of Jersey voted earlier this year to legalise assisted dying for adults with six months or fewer left to live, and similar legislation is passing through the parliament of the Isle of Man.
But, since both these islands are self-governing and not part of the UK, the assisted dying provisions in these jurisdictions would not be available to those living in Great Britain.
What do supporters say?
Broadcaster Esther Rantzen has been leading a campaign urging MPs to consider legalising assisted dying in the UK after she revealed she is terminally ill with lung cancer.
She has revealed that she has joined Dignitas, an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland frequently used by people in the UK looking to end their life.
She said she is “thrilled and grateful” at the news, which she said could mean “terminally ill people like me can look forward with hope and confidence that we could have a good death”.
She said: “I never thought I might live to see the current cruel law change.
“But even if it is too late for me, I know thousands of terminally ill patients and their families will be given new hope.
“All we ask is to be given the choice over our own lives.”
Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, she said that “a change in the law “would mean that I could look forward in confidence to a death which is pain-free surrounded by people I love”.
“The only other way of having a pain-free death to look forward to in confidence is to go to Dignitas in Switzerland without my family – because if my family go with me they could be investigated by the police for killing me, or pressuring me to die.”
She claimed that had “envied” the death given to her dog, adding: “Isn’t it typically British that we give the pets we love a pain-free, dignified, private death but we can’t offer it to the people we love.”
What do opponents say?
Opponents of assisted dying often cite concerns that those at the end of their life could be pressured into assisted dying, or that it could be used as a substitute for palliative care.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is among those who have said they are opposed to legalising assisted dying.
Speaking to the Spectator earlier this year, she said: “Once you cross that line, you’ve crossed it forever. If it becomes the norm that at a certain age or with certain diseases, you are now a bit of a burden… that’s a really dangerous position.”
Others cite religious grounds when speaking against the issue, with the Church of England and Catholic Bishops expressing strong concerns.
In written evidence to the health and social care select committee, the Catholic Church of England and Wales said: “Our opposition is a matter of human reason, as well as religious faith: assisted suicide is inherently wrong and the evidence from other jurisdictions shows there can be no safe or limited assisted suicide law.”
