Gordon Brown, the former Labour prime minister, has expressed his opposition to an upcoming law on assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will permit some terminally-ill patients to access medically-assisted dying. However, Brown has argued that Britain needs to improve its palliative care options before considering such drastic measures. Although Brown no longer holds a parliamentary seat, his views carry weight within the Labour Party.
Kim Leadbeater, a Labour MP, introduced the bill. She believes it could prevent the harrowing deaths of terminally-ill people. The bill has received backing from campaigners such as Esther Rantzen. The debate in parliament is set to take place next Friday, with MPs given a free vote.
Brown is far from alone in his concerns about the bill. The two longest-serving MPs in the Commons, along with both the health and justice secretaries, have already spoken out against the bill. Although public opinion is divided on the issue, many voters are in favour of allowing assisted dying in principle.
In an opinion column for The Guardian, Brown detailed the death of his first daughter Jennifer Jane in his response. He believes that Britain needs to improve its end-of-life care options before considering assisted dying. Brown stated that such a law would change societal attitudes towards elderly, seriously ill, and disabled individuals. He also claimed that health professionals would lose “something irreplaceable – their position as exclusively caregivers”
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