Britain to consider 'historic' bill to legalise assisted dying

LONDON – British lawmakers will soon consider whether to give terminally ill adults a choice to end their own lives with medical assistance, in the first parliamentary move to legalise assisted dying in almost a decade.

Proponents of assisted dying say public opinion on the highly emotive issue has been changing since lawmakers voted against a similar bill in 2015, and that mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or fewer left to live deserve to choose whether to end their lives.

The practice is currently illegal in England and Wales, and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Those who accompany relatives choosing euthanasia in places like Switzerland, where it has been legal since 1942, could face prosecution in Britain for assisting suicide.

In recent years, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and some US states have legalised assisted dying, or euthanasia, in varying degrees.

The new legislation, which has not been published yet, will be presented to Parliament on Oct 16 by Labour Party lawmaker Kim Leadbeater. She won a ballot giving her the right to try to pass a bill on a subject of her choice, and confirmed on Oct 3 that she would present one on legalised assisted dying.

While it does not have government backing, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party won an election in July, promised earlier in 2024 to give lawmakers a free vote, meaning they will not be ordered to vote in any particular way.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said in a letter to ministers that they would also not be told how to vote.

The law would apply to England and Wales if passed through the full process of legislative scrutiny by both houses of Parliament, which could take several months. Scotland’s devolved Parliament is considering similar legislation.

“I strongly believe that we should give people facing the most unbearable end to their life a choice about what that end is like,” Ms Leadbeater wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

A number of lawmakers from all of Britain’s major parties remain sceptical, notably expressing concern that terminally ill patients who are vulnerable and feel they are being a burden to their families could face pressure to end their lives.

“While I deeply respect the debate, I have yet to see legislation that fully addresses concerns around coercion or doubt,” Labour lawmaker James Frith wrote on X. “If a vote were held today, I would vote against assisted dying.”

Research published by Savanta on Oct 4 showed that Britons were more than twice as likely to support assisted dying than oppose it. Polling of 2,000 people showed 48 per cent supported it, 21 per cent opposed it, 22 per cent said they neither supported nor opposed it, and the rest did not know.

“This is a historic opportunity to bring about real change for dying people... The mood in Westminster has shifted dramatically, at last catching up with public opinion,” said Ms Sarah Wootton, head of the campaign group Dignity in Dying.

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