The assisted dying bill was passed on its first stage in the House of Commons last week. The bill proposes adult patients who have less than six months to live can seek to end their life with the help of a doctor. While MPs have raised concerns about the legislation’s provisions, which allow doctors to bring up the topic without the patient asking for it, some legislators are seeking amendments; changes to the bill’s proposal during further scrutiny in the coming months.
Medical practitioners will be allowed to decide if and when it is appropriate to talk about assisted dying with the patient under the bill. The British Medical Association believes that doctors should not be prohibited in law from raising this subject. Nonetheless, a few MPs who voted for the bill are concerned about these planned provisions set forth in the legislation. Some of the MPs, such as the Labour MP Mike Tapp for Dover and Deal, believe that the statement needs to be specifically stated in the bill that medical professionals should not raise the topic of assisted dying with any patient unless it is brought up by the patient to mitigate the risk of accidental coercion.
The bill would allow adults who have less than six months to live to receive assisted death rights if their request is approved by two doctors and a high court judge. MPs want to amend some parts before it can become law. They would like the law to be amended to ensure doctors present the patient with all possible options. The Labour MP for Penistone and Stockbridge, Marie Tidball, stated that if assisted dying is one option, palliative and end-of-life care should also be available.
Opponents of the legislation, such as Conservative MP Danny Kruger, believe the legislation is crippling because it can be dangerous. Kruger hopes that if the safeguards in the legislation are not strengthened, his colleagues will choose to vote against it in the future. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, voted in favor of the bill, and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch voted against it
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