Legislation permitting people to seek assisted suicide will come before the UK Parliament in the next few months. MPs will be given a free vote on the Bill.
Norman Lamb, a Liberal Democrat MP and Minister of State for Care and Support has said that he will vote in favour of the Bill. Mr Lamb said that he was convinced that “the State should not stand in the way” of people determined to end their life.
Under the 1961 Suicide Act, it remains a criminal offence up to 14 years in jail to help someone to take their own life. The Director of Public Prosecutions, however, has previously stated that anyone who assisted a loved one to die while acting out of compassion would be unlikely to be charged.
The Bill has been introduced by Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the former Labour Lord Chancellor. It will have the effect of allowing two doctors to prescribe a lethal drugs dose to a terminally ill patient with less than six months to live. It will be voted on in the House of Lords in the next few months and will then be passed on to the House of Commons.
Concern has been raised in relation to this vulnerable section in society. Richard Hawkes, chief executive of the disability charity Scope has stated that “the ban on assisted suicide sends a really powerful message countering the view that if you’re disabled it’s not worth being alive and that you’re a burden. It provides crucial protection to any person who feels under pressure to end their life”.
Click here to read the full draft legislation.
Click here to read an article in The Independent about the proposed legislation.
PILA Bulletin readers may recall that Belgium recently legalised euthanasia for terminally ill children.
PILA is currently facilitating a working group on assisted dying – click here to read a recent article on Journal.ie.