Extend assisted dying to those without terminal illness, say Labour MPs

A number of Labour MPs want more individuals to qualify for assisted dying, The Telegraph has learnt.

The Labour MP Kim Leadbeater is to introduce a bill on October 16 to legalise assisted dying as her Private Member’s Bill has been drawn. The fact that she has decided to put the proposition for the change of the law means there could be a free for all MPs before Christmas.

The bill is to establish what many consider as a right for the terminally ill adults to make a decision on how they want their time cut short.

An estimated 38 Labour politicians, among them 13 for whom this is an official capacity, are said to support plans that extend the bill not only to those with terminal diseases but to those ‘hopelessly suffering’.

As of this week, they are part of a total of 54 MPs who have demanded that the scope of the bill should be expanded, as Humanists UK, which has been campaigning for change for years, reports. It is likely to add philosophical concerns about making uncertainties on who would be legally allowed to suffer a state-assisted death.

One of the most important concerns that opponents of assisted dying have is that if the requirements for its provision are too general, patients with anxiety, clinical depression, heart conditions, etc., can also go right ahead and exercise this right.

The proponents of change in the law argue that it is unjust to keep a terminally ill patient alive if he or she is in pain.

A change would also stop suffering patients flying to other countries to commit suicide while being away from loved ones.

It will be the first time the topic has been debated in the House of Commons for over a year since an assisted dying bill was voted down in 2015.

While the survey says that majority of people support the legalisation of assisted suicide for people who are dying, the debate can split the parties.

Before the bill gets to its first reading, Ms Leadbeater is required to best title it to ensure that she sets the tone of the debate as wide as possible. Such manoeuver would make it very hard for MPs to debate the value or otherwise of extending the scope of the legislation as a form of assisted dying a programme that is popular in most developed countries.

But when the bill is granted a vague title it amounts to MPs could add amendments to the bill, on issues to do with whether those with terminal diseases but are not necessarily in their terminal phase, should be allowed legalised assisted dying just like terminally ill patients.

Ms Leadbeater said she wanted the bill to be about the legalisation in NSW of assisted dying for the terminally ill but stressed it was ‘‘significant that the discussion is comprehensive and ferocious and quite naked’.

“I still have not selected the name for the bill,” she responded. There is one I will be able to engage with and discuss with people with different opinions. This one for me is fine and the most important thing is that the debate itself has to be liberal. And it’s especially which always really significant to return to the point that it is a matter of choice.

Some of the Labour MPs are expected to approach Ms Leadbeater in the next couple of days for detailed discussions on the bill wording.

They want people to know that suffering ‘is not limited to terminal illnesses’.
Labour MP for for Morecambe and Lunesdale Lizzi Collinge said she had already discussed the matter with Ms Leadbeater and was in favour of legalising assisted dying for the patients suffering from the disease that cannot be treated.

“It is an important position because ultimately this is about human suffering,” she said. “Unfortunately suffering is not limited to those who have a terminal illness So the house, simply provides premature dying as an option for this group.In the community some patients who have no prognosis of having less than six months will be suffering and no matter the care you give them their suffering becomes unbearable.ise assisted dying after her Private Member’s Bill was selected for debate. Her decision to propose the law change means there could be a free vote by MPs before Christmas.

The bill is expected to give terminally ill adults the right to choose to shorten their lives if they wish.

As many as 38 Labour politicians, including 13 who hold government roles, are understood to back proposals for the bill to go further and to apply not just to the terminally ill, but more broadly to those “incurably suffering”.

They are among a cross-party group of 54 MPs calling for the scope of the bill to be widened, according to Humanists UK, which has long called for a change in the law. It is likely to raise fears over introducing ambiguity into who would be eligible for state-sanctioned euthanasia.

A key fear of those who oppose assisted dying is that too loose a definition of who qualifies could lead to people suffering from depression and other non-terminal health issues being allowed to take their own lives.

Backers of a change in the law say that it is inhumane to keep the terminally ill alive if they are experiencing unbearable suffering.

A change would also end the practice of terminally ill people travelling abroad to end their lives, often separated from their friends and families.

It will be the first time the topic has been debated in the House of Commons since 2015, when an assisted dying bill was defeated.

While polling shows that a majority of the public backs legalising support for terminally ill people who wish to end their lives, the issue could cause serious divisions across parties.

Ahead of the bill’s first reading, Ms Leadbeater must decide on its title, which will determine the breadth of the debate. If the bill is defined narrowly as assisted dying for the terminally ill, it would make it difficult for MPs to debate the merits of whether the legislation should be broadened in scope.

But if the bill is given a more open-ended title, it means MPs could introduce amendments, including on whether those with incurable illnesses should be eligible for legalised assisted dying as well as the terminally ill.

Ms Leadbeater said she intended for the bill to be focussed on legalising assisted dying for those who were terminally ill but added that it was “important that the debate is broad and robust and very open”.

“I haven’t decided the title of the bill yet,” she said. “I will meet and speak to people with different views. I am open-minded and the important thing is that the debate needs to be broad. It’s always really important to get back to the point that it’s about choice.”

Several Labour MPs are expected to seek meetings with Ms Leadbeater in the coming days to discuss the wording of the bill.

Suffering ‘not limited to terminal illnesses’

Lizzi Collinge, the Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, said she believed assisted dying should be legalised for those with incurable illness and had already written to Ms Leadbeater about the issue.

“It is an important position because ultimately this is about human suffering,” she said. “Unfortunately suffering is not limited to those who have a terminal illness. Some people who do not have a prognosis of six months or less will be suffering in  a way that no matter what you do, no matter the care you receive, their suffering becomes intolerable. That, I think, needs to be reflected in the law also.”

Nathan Stilwell, the lead campaigner for Humanists UK on assisted dying, said that he was delighted to witness a lot of support on the issue in the new Parliament.

He added: Humanists UK have been fighting for compassionate assisted dying law for more than a hundred years and for the inclusion of the incurably suffering and terminally ill equal.

“We’ve been consistently campaigning with the MPs and at least 50 want to pass a law for assisted dying so that people who are not dying but are in chronic pain because of conditions such as multiple sclerosis and locked-in syndrome can live.” We believe that once the MPs open and start to read the proposed changes, that figure will be higher.”