Assisted Dying Bill: MPs Set to Debate in Parliament on 16th October 2024
Proposals to allow assisted dying will be laid out in Parliament later this month. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has tabled a Private Member's Bill to give people 'choice at the end of life', with Downing Street indicating it will not obstruct its progress.
The Spen Valley MP asked for 'honest, compassionate and respectful debate' when her Bill, which will be tabled on October 16, is considered in the Commons. Her proposal would allow eligible adults to end their lives and ensure stronger protections for them and their loved ones in the aftermath.
I wrote a paper concerning the issue of Assisted Dying while at University, placing the then Private Members Bill petitioned by Lord Joffe (2005) against the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
This remains a very contentious issue, there are pros and cons on both sides of the argument, however, after re reading my paper written 15 years ago, I feel that the problems that politicians faced then, will remain the same during the debate on 16th October. My findings then remain the same now as they were when writing the report, and there seems to be no route forward except only to reduce to the rights of an individual who might make, literally, a life changing decision during a time which is extremely challenging due to whatever illness they might be suffering at the time. There is no room for a "blanket" solution (ie; Assisted Dying Bill), unless, there is scope and a mechanism to ensure that each case be treated individually in a sensitive manner, which ensures that every avenue open to the individual has been explored exhaustively, including a police investigation of all concerned with the ultimate decision so as to exclude coercion (which unfortunately has been found to exist where Assisted Dying is legal).
Read my essay on the link below:
Read my essay here (opens a new window)
Edwin Duggan LLB (Hons)
Published 4th October 2024