MPs have approved the Assisted Dying Bill by 330 to 275. John Rees argues there are real dangers ahead
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, to give it its official title, is a private-member’s bill brought forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbetter.
The party whips were stood down and this was a free vote.
The Bill faced serious opposition, with former prime ministers, including Gordon Brown, coming out against it. So did Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Former prime minister Lord Cameron was the most well-known politician to campaign publicly for the Bill.
There are fears that the legislation is being rushed. And the fact that the largest number of MPs hadn’t made their mind up before the vote seemed to support that interpretation.
Indeed, it’s only nine years since the last vote on the issue, when assisted dying was defeated by a massive 330 votes to 118.
Many disabled rights campaigners fear that safeguards against abuse are not strong enough. While it is true that the Bill insists that the right to die will only apply to terminally ill patients with a maximum of six months to live and that coercion will be mitigated by the need to have two doctors and a judge sign off on a clearly expressed desire to die, there are still very real concerns.
In the debate, Diane Abbott, mother of the House, described the Bill as setting up ‘a fully funded suicide service’.
Campaigners point out that in other countries where such legislation exists, the vetting procedures are overwhelmed and cases are just nodded through with little scrutiny. They also point out that the coercion clause only applies to third parties, so there is no check on ‘self-coercion’, the feelings of guilt that some patients feel about ‘being a burden’ to friends, family or even to the healthcare system.
Disability campaigner Liz Carr said: ‘It’s no exaggeration to say that many disabled people are terrified of this Bill being voted in. Our recent past showed us how ill, older and disabled people’s lives are viewed as less valuable and more disposable.’
She continued, ‘Set against this backdrop of inequality, bias and disadvantage, we do not believe any safeguards could protect us from the inevitable abuse, pressure, coercion and mistakes made under the Leadbeater Bill.’
Those who support the Leadbetter Bill often cite the experience of the US state of Oregon where a Dignity in Dying Act was passed 25 years ago.
But over that time, there has been a dramatic increase in numbers being killed, from sixteen in 1998 to 278 in 2022. At the same time, the proportion referred for psychiatric evaluation prior to assisted suicide has dropped from 31% just to 1.1%, indicating a chronic decline in oversight.
As frighteningly, the annual reports in Oregon show increasing numbers of people citing the fear of being a burden and more citing financial concerns as their reason for seeking death. The proportion of those with private health insurance fell from 65% to 20% over the 25 years; most (80%) had government (Medicare or Medicaid) health insurance in 2022. That suggests increasing numbers of poor and medically uninsured people requesting to die.
In Canada, which also has ‘right-to-die’ legislation and where such deaths are now a massive 4% of all deaths, the same concerns have been raised.
This legislation, no matter how well-meant, will leave the poor, the elderly, and the disabled more at risk, not better cared for.
From this month’s Counterfire freesheet
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