Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's private members' bill seeks to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults, with a debate and vote expected today in Parliament. The bill faces significant opposition from some MPs.
MPs will today vote on whether to back assisted dying laws as they debate a controversial bill splitting opinion across Parliament .
I respectfully disagree with , the countries where a Bill of this nature has been implemented, the safeguards have been in place and the boundaries have never changed.10:15Assisted dying bill will be 'nothing like' laws in Canada and Belgium We’re going to check for coercion in a very robust system. We don’t have any of that now, so at the moment the person will definitely be dead.We have to look at the status quo by putting layers of safeguarding and checking for coercion. That’s got to be better than the system that we’ve got now.10:05Kim Leadbeater - Ex-police officer felt unable to travel to Dignitas with dying mother
A group of six cross-party MPs put forward an amendment arguing a private members' bill does not 'allow for sufficient debate on and scrutiny of a Bill on a matter of this importance'.MPs now have until 2.30pm to debate the Bill. It is one of the most important debates this House has had so it’s about being considerate, respectful of each other and let us listen to each other. This is the time for the House to show itself at its best.09:45Assisted dying bill debate starts in ParliamentMs Leadbeater put forward the private members' bill.We will bring you the key developments from the Commons throughout the morning and afternoon.
Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet and all the major political parties are heavily divided on changing the law to allow medics to help the terminally ill end their lives without fear of prosecution. 09:20Watch: Palliative care patient expresses concern over assisted dying bill A disabled woman receiving end of life care has told the BBC the assisted dying bill could permanently erode the trust between doctors and patients.
But in an article for the Times newspaper, he said he had been won over to supporting in the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, set to be debated by MPs on Friday. A closure motion can be moved to curtail the debate and force a vote. It may be moved at any time during proceedings. Doctors who do would have to be satisfied the person making their declaration to die has made it voluntarily and not been coerced or pressured by anyone else.
They must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish – free from coercion or pressure – to end their life. If someone is found guilty of either of these actions, they could face a jail sentence of up to 14 years.
In previous role as director of public prosecutions before he entered politics, Starmer set out guidance on when relatives would be charged for assisting suicide which he said then had convinced him of the 'injustice' of the current legislation.
More recent polling from More in Common found 65% support the principle of assisted dying while 13% oppose it and the rest are unsure. Its polling of around 2,000 people across Great Britain this month also found that almost a third were unaware a debate on the issue was happening in Parliament. They say legalising assisted dying could 'place pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden upon others' and argue the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be especially at risk.
The Terminally Ill Adults Bill also sets out a legal and medical framework for when that right may be exercised, as well as the cold mechanics of how life would be extinguished. The vote on assisted dying was on a knife edge last night in the countdown to the crunch Commons debate.
Assisted Dying Terminally Ill Adults End Of Life Bill Kim Leadbeater Parliament Medical Safeguards
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