Assisted dying bill "an act of humanity for those facing the end of life" - Lesley Veronica

On Friday 29 Nov MPs will vote on The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. This will be the second time there has been an attempt to introduce an assisted dying bill in the UK. This is a private members bill being brought by Kim Leadbetter (Labour). The last time the issue was debated was in 2015 when the Commons voted against the bill progressing by 330 votes to 118. We sincerely hope that this will not be the case this time round and that the bill will be moved to the next stage.

Deputy leader, Lesley Veronica said “Claims that these new measures will detract from palliative care provision are without basis and contrary to the evidence from other European countries which already have assisted dying provision. This is reminiscent of the moral panic arguments which surround other health measures such as abortion and has no basis in fact. It also fails to consider the human suffering that a failure to legislate will impose on people in the most tragic time of their life. Statistics from other countries which already have legalised assisted dying show that the majority of people who ask for help to die have terminal cancer (2/3) with one in 10 suffering from neurological disorders.”

"The measures being proposed in Kim Leadbetter’s bill are limited and designed to prevent the ‘slippery slope’ feared by opponents to the bill. In fact if passed this will provide one of the strictest set of rules around assisted dying in the world. At present approximately 50 people travel from the UK to Dignitas in Switzerland and countless others suffer needlessly from a loss of autonomy at their end of life. Far from being a form of state killing this is a recognition of the importance of allowing people to die in dignity and is an act of humanity for those facing the end of life."

ENDS

Notes: GPNI recently adopted support for assisted dying measures to be introduced at our annual AGM. We recognise the sensitive nature of these measures however we do not believe that anyone should be forced to die without dignity and to bear unendurable suffering at the end of life. The terms of the bill being proposed in the UK parliament are in line with measures which have been brought in across several American states such as Oregon. In Europe six countries have some form of assisted dying: Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Austria.