UK Context
Kim Leadbeater MP presented
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to the House of Commons on 16 October 2024. It applies only to England and Wales. A separate Bill is being debated in the Scottish Parliament. The full text of the Bill was released to the public on 11 November, ahead of a second reading in the House of Commons on 29 November 2024.
If passed, this Bill would pave the way for over-18s who are terminally ill to be legally given assistance to end their own life, assuming the following requirements are upheld:
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They must be resident of England and Wales and be registered with a GP for at least 12 months
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They must have the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressure
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They must be expected to die within six months
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They must make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die
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Two independent medical practitioners must be satisfied the person is eligible - and there must be at least seven days between their assessments
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A High Court judge must hear from at least one of the medical practitioners and can also question the dying person, or anyone else they consider appropriate. There must be a further 14 days after the judge has made the ruling
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The person must take the substance themselves – it will not be administered by a medical practitioner, although they could prepare it
The issue of assisted dying was last debated in the House of Commons in 2015, with
330 votes against and 118 votes for the provision of assisted dying into UK law and practice.
An Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill in the House of Lords was introduced by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 26 July 2024, which will be paused while the House of Commons Bill progresses (it may be dismissed completely).
Both Kim Leadbeater’s and Lord Falconer’s Bills are ‘Private Members’ Bills’, meaning that they are not being introduced by the UK government and didn’t appear on the King’s Speech. Private Members’ Bills are generally given much less time for scrutiny in Parliament than government-backed bills.
It should be a point of concern that legislation with such far-reaching consequences for society should be given such an insubstantial amount of time for debate. If the Bill should fail, a close result could encourage the government to proceed with a much fuller debate on the issue later in its term.
At this time, however, the Labour government has assured its MPs that they will have a ‘free vote’ – i.e. the government whip will not insist that MPs vote a certain way, but will leave it up to their own conscience (or the mind of their own constituency). Other parties may do the same. Therefore, members of the public have a good (but short) opportunity to communicate their concerns or hopes for the Bill with their MP, without the MP being under pressure to 'toe the party line'.
A separate debate and Bill on Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill adults is progressing through the Scottish Parliament, having been introduced in March 2024. As a devolved matter, Scotland will be able to make up its own mind on the issue. It is expected, however, that some Scottish MPs will take the opportunity to vote on the Leadbeater Bill despite it not affecting Scottish law directly.
In Wales, the situation is more complicated in that the reach of the Bill extends to Wales, yet in a recent indicative vote in the Senedd, Welsh Assembly Members voted strongly against implementing assisted dying. The Leadbeater Bill passing could therefore lead to the confusion of NHS Wales having to facilitate physician-assisted deaths when the Welsh Assembly, which has oversight of NHS Wales, has clearly rejected the move.
Currently, in the UK, the administration of pain relief is strictly monitored when associated with end-of-life care. As the law in England and Wales stands, it is illegal to assist the end of a person’s life, punishable with up to 14 years in prison. There have been times where a partner or family member has been arrested and questioned when returning from Dignitas in Switzerland where private assisted dying has been conducted by a loved one.