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UK Parliament is to debate a new bill that would allow terminally ill adults, expected to die within six months, to request medical assistance to end their lives. The proposal would require approval from two independent doctors and a High Court judge deemed to have the strictest safeguards of any law of its kind in the world. The rights group Care Not Killing claimed the bill ignored deep-seated problems with the UK’s “broken and patchy” palliative care system. In 2015, MPs rejected proposals to allow some terminally ill adults to end their lives.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater tabled the private members’ bill, which takes its name from a similar one in California. It would require an individual to be at least 18, a registered resident in England or Wales, and have mental capacity to choose to end their life free from outside pressure. They must also express a freely made “clear, settled and informed” wish at every stage of requesting assistance, with no obligation on doctors to participate. If approved, the bill would require self-administration of any substances to end life.
Leadbeater said MPs voting against the bill or abstaining would deem the current legal status quo acceptable, but it was “not fit for purpose” and was “leading to people having horrible deaths, taking their own lives, having to go to other countries if they can afford it”. She claimed the draft law provided “checks against coercion or pressure” at every stage, with a code of practice and robust training for doctors involved. The government has taken a neutral stance on the bill, meaning MPs can make their own choice and do not have to follow the party line.
Campaigners including broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen support the bill. She has called for a change in the law to give terminally ill people a say in the manner of their death to avoid suffering. Those opposing the law fear vulnerable people under pressure to end their lives, as well as emphasizing the need to focus on improving palliative care rather than changing the law. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who intends to vote against the bill, highlighted concerns that end-of-life care is not currently sufficient to provide people with actual choice.
If passed at the first vote at the end of the month, the bill will undergo further scrutiny from both MPs and peers, who can choose to amend it. The final legislation would need approval from both the House of Commons and Lords before it became law
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