Labour backbench MP Kim Leadbeater’s private members bill on introducing assisted dying has been officially launched in the House of Commons, the bill will first be voted on after the second reading of the bill by MPs on the 29th of November.
Through the random selection process Labour MP for Spen Valley, Kim Leadbeater, has been able to bring forward her bill on introducing assisted dying to the UK. Leadbeater stated the bill would provide adults who are terminally ill the choice to shorten the period of death, for them and their loved ones. Leadbeater has addressed challenges from critics by ensuring that the bill would have safeguards to protect all terminally ill people would not be made to agree to assisted dying against their will and judgement, specifying the bill will not undermine palliative care.
Opposition has come from an array of places, such as House of Lords cross-bencher Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who plans to fight against the bill from the Lords. The former Paralympian believes passing such a bill would risk forcing disabled people into a choice that they do not want to take, due to the growing costs of health and social care, and the strain that these costs cause on loved ones, stating to Sky News in January of this year; “The consequences for people who don’t have a choice are really serious.” Grey-Thompson began voicing her opposition after Dame Esther Rantzen announced she has joined Dignitas, the famed Swiss assisted dying clinic. Founded in 1998, Dignitas is probably the most well-known assisted dying clinic globally, who stand for ‘living with dignity, and dying with dignity.’
Former cabinet secretary Simon Case announced that the eventual vote on the bill will not fall under the governments collective responsibility, stating “ministers can vote, or not, however they wish.” Leaving the bill to the mercy of individual opinion. The polls suggest the majority of the British public are in favour of the general idea of assisted dying, but the Labour Party seem to be less united, PM Keir Starmer suggests there are “certainly grounds for changing the law.” Whereas his Health secretary Wes Streeting has reservations, raising concerns over lack of end-of-life care available for people who need it.
The first reading of the bill took place on the 16th of October, with the Senedd holding a debate and vote on the 23rd of October. The bill will not apply in Scotland, but a separate, similar private member’s bill was brought forward by Liam McArther MSP. The final vote in parliament will take place on the 29th of November, the first of its kind in almost a decade.