Tomorrow, MPs will vote for the first time on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the first vote on assisted dying in the Commons in nearly a decade. Introduced by Kim Leadbeater MBE, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, the Bill will allow adults who are terminally ill with six months or fewer to live to have assistance to end their own life, subject to safeguards and protections. Humanists UK urges MPs to vote for the Bill to give individuals choice, compassion and autonomy at the end of their lives.
Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK, said:
‘This is a historic Bill which will give many suffering people the choice and dignity they desire and deserve as their lives draw to a close.
‘Public opinion is overwhelmingly in support, informed by personal experience and the widespread debate that has occurred throughout society in the last twenty years. In that time, two parliamentary committees have inquired into assisted dying, five bills have been debated, and many medical and other bodies have engaged in deep policy work in this area. 31 other places in the world have proceeded to introduce assisted dying. The time has now come for action here.
‘Almost nothing in this Bill is untried or untested somewhere in the world where assisted dying is already legal and there are many stages of debate ahead which will offer ample opportunities to provide detailed scrutiny and any necessary amending of the measure, before future votes as the proposals proceed through their parliamentary stages.
‘The fact of the matter is that assisted dying is already happening in this country. Some are travelling to Switzerland, if they have the money and mobility to do so. Others are dying in traumatic circumstances by suicide, assisted or otherwise. We hope Parliament will vote to introduce safeguards where there are currently none and meet the compassionate aspirations of the people they represent.’
If the Bill passes the second Reading on Friday, it will go to a committee stage, which will see several months of line-by-line scrutiny before a final vote in the House of Commons next year.
The Bill will apply to England and Wales only. A private member’s bill in Scotland by Liam McArthur MSP has been introduced in the Scottish Parliament.
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For further comment or information, media should contact Humanists UK Chief Executive Andrew Copson on 07855 380633 or Assisted Dying Campaigner Nathan Stilwell at nathan@humanists.uk or phone 07456 200033.
If you have been affected by the current assisted dying legislation, and want to use your story to support a change in the law, please email campaigns@humanists.uk.
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Humanists defend the right of each individual to live by their own personal values, and the freedom to make decisions about their own life so long as this does not result in harm to others. Humanists do not share the attitudes to death and dying held by some religious believers, in particular that the manner and time of death are for a deity to decide, and that interference in the course of nature is unacceptable. We firmly uphold the right to life but we recognise that this right carries with it the right of each individual to make their own judgement about whether their life should be prolonged in the face of pointless suffering.
We recognise that any assisted dying law must contain strong safeguards, but the international evidence from countries where assisted dying is legal shows that safeguards can be effective. We also believe that the choice of assisted dying should not be considered an alternative to palliative care, but should be offered together as in many other countries.
Read six reasons we need an assisted dying law.
Read more about our analysis of the assisted dying inquiry.
Read more about our campaign to legalise assisted dying in the UK.
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