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Plans for a Parliamentary vote on assisted dying have been welcomed by campaigners, including Dame Esther Rantzen. The parliamentary debate, scheduled to take place later this year, will be the first vote on the issue in nine years. The presenter, who is terminally ill with lung cancer, has been a vocal advocate for legalising assisted dying. Activists on the other side of the argument, however, including disability rights campaigners, have raised concerns about the impact a would-be law could have on vulnerable individuals.
The proposed bill will cover England and Wales, where assisting someone with ending their life is currently illegal. In Scotland, where it is not a specific criminal offence but can lead to a murder charge, a bill is currently being considered. If this passes, it will give terminally ill adults in Scotland the right to request help to end their life.
Dame Esther has expressed concerns about the current state of the law, arguing that it puts her family “at risk of being accused of killing me” if they assisted her in ending her life. Her daughter has also spoken about how such laws are important for the dignity of choice, which would grant terminally ill adults the right to choose to shorten the time before their death.
The debate will be free, meaning MPs will be able to vote according to their conscience without party pressure. The Prime Minister has promised to give Labour MPs a chance to vote with their conscience, but his own voting intentions are currently unclear. The details of the proposal have not yet been finalised, but it is likely to be similar to a bill tabled in the House of Lords, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to receive medical help to end their own lives
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