Following its return last week to Parliament for further debate and amendments, I’d like to share my thoughts on the Assisted Dying Bill and explain why I remain unable to support this legislation.
This is one of the most difficult issues I’ve had to consider as a Parliamentarian and I’m immensely grateful to all of you who have written or spoken to me about such a deeply sensitive and complex issue.
I set out my reasons for voting against the earlier version of the Bill in November last year. While in principle I believe the choice of an assisted death should be available subject to strict conditions, I was and remain concerned with the detail of the legislation, as well as the broader issues around palliative and other healthcare services, which mean that I cannot support such a monumental shift in how we as a country deal with the end of life at this time.
While I hoped that Committee stage might strengthen the crucial safeguards in the Bill, in my view this has not happened. Indeed, some measures such as dropping the High Court safeguard and replacing this with so-called expert panels have weakened rather than strengthened the Bill.
For these reasons, I continue to have significant concerns and cannot support this legislation at its next reading.
However if MPs do vote to pass the bill, I am keen to ensure that, if it eventually becomes law, it is as strong and robust as possible. For this reason, I have added my name in support of amendments to the Bill which seek to ensure that:
- no health professional raises the question of assisted death with anyone under 18
- the implementation of assisted dying is properly monitored by the Chief Medical Officer
- any private companies involved in delivering these services are transparent about their finances and the numbers of patients
- any attempt to change the founding statements of the purpose of the NHS would have to be decided separately and not just as a result of this bill;
- And that the bill would become an Act of Law only at the point it is ready, not simply after a defined time period has run out.
Of course, Friday’s debates and amendments were not the end of the process, and I’ll also continue to listen carefully to constituents on both sides of the debate.