A new proposal to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is introduced in the UK parliament on Wednesday, sparking concern from senior church leaders and opponents about the implications of allowing the terminally ill to die on their own terms.
Lawmakers in the House of Commons will get a free vote on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, allowing them to vote with their conscience rather than along party political lines.
Details have not yet been published but The Times said that if passed, a patient’s wish to die is likely to need sign-off from a judge and two doctors, and would be limited to those with six to 12 months to live.
Supporters of the bill and opponents were due to make their voices heard outside parliament, where an assisted dying bill was last debated — and defeated — in the Commons in 2015.
Currently, assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
In Scotland, which has a separate legal system and devolved powers to set its own health policy, it is not a specific criminal offence. But it can leave a person open to other charges, including murder.
Leadbeater told The Times that her bill reflected a shift in public opinion towards assisted dying, which has been legalised to varying degrees in a number of European countries.
“I am very clear the law needs to change, having met those families who have horrendous stories of suicide of loved ones, horrible painful deaths or going to other countries,” she was quoted as saying.
“People deserve a choice and they’ve not got that,” she added, promising “safeguards and protections” at the heart of the bill.
The debate has been given impetus by a campaign led by the former BBC television presenter Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer.