MPs are in growing turmoil over legalising assisted dying
Campaigners from “Dignity in Dying” hold placards during a demonstration outside The Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament during a gathering in favour of the proposal to legalise euthanasia in the UK after supporters urged them to back a law change despite concerns over how it would be implemented., which would allow terminally ill people to seek medical assistance to end their life, is set to be debated by MPs for the first time in over a decade on 29 November.
The charity Humanist UK, which has expressed strong support for the bill, also called for MPs not to vote against it if they have concerns about the “practicalities” of the process. However, opponents of the legislation criticised suggestions that a bill on such a complex issue should be voted through for amendment later. They fear that as it is a PMB, it won’t get enough scrutiny.
Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has already stated that he will vote against or abstain because it is being delivered via a PMB, that does not “get anywhere near the same level of scrutiny and debate as the bills put forward by the Government – and legalising assisted dying is far from a straightforward issue.”
Shelbrooke said that, without that assurance, “people like myself may decline a second reading over fear that we may not get to debate these issues in full”. On Wednesday, the Health Secretary also suggested there may need to be cuts to other NHS services if the changes are brought in and said he was concerned of a “chilling slippery slope argument” about ending lives as a cost-saving measure. He said he has ordered the Department of Health to analyse the costs of implementing any change in the law.
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