LICHFIELD’S MP has voted in favour of a proposal to legalise assisted dying.
Parliament has been debating the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which would give people across England and Wales the right to choose to end their own life in certain circumstances.
The result of a vote today (29th November) saw MPs back the bill by 330 to 275.
It must now go through other stages before formally becoming law, but would contain a number of conditions which must be fulfilled before someone can assist another person to end their own life.
These include the person being supported having the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure.
They must be expected to die within six months and make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die. Two independent doctors must also be satisfied the person is eligible – and there must be at least seven days between the assessments.
Labour MP Dave Robertson said he came to his decision to support the bill after listening to the views of hundreds of constituents who have written to him on this issue.
He said:
“After careful consideration of the bill, its implications and the diverse viewpoints of constituents, I voted to support the bill moving on to the next stages of the parliamentary processes.
“The bill will now continue throughout its legislative journey, through the committee and report stages, a Third Reading and then finally moving through the House of Lords. This will allow us to explore its provisions and put them under the scrutiny they call for.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly – and I’d like to be clear that although I have supported the bill today, I have not yet made any firm decisions about my vote when the bill returns to the House of Commons next year.”
Good for you, Dave!
“I’m undecided but I voted for it anyway”
Well that’s one way to do it.
The other is to have a conviction and stick to your morals.
I’m glad it’s been voted in , people should have the right to decide, if their illness cannot be cured and it’s definitely going to cause unbearable pain to the individual, I don’t believe it should have been decided by so few people, it should have been a referendum as there are to many MPs that fall back on religious grounds to avoid making this decision legal, well done to those MPs that were brave enough to vote for it , we must absolutely make sure no one person abuses this new law.
I’m glad I don’t have that one on my conscience.
The sentiment seems to be its a kindness for dying people who are in pain. With caring partners and families.
Some dying people will feel they are a burden and that their legacy is being wasted on care homes. Some families might feel an earlier death might benefit them overall.
Other countries have seen their safeguards slip over time with neurological conditions and children now involved.
I am compassionate by nature but fear that unintended consequences might not always bring about the good intentions of this policy.
It should be and will be an incentive to review and optimise and properly fund palliative care, to ensure that this route, once it has been made possible, will only be taken in exceptional circumstances.