Kim Leadbeater MP has formally introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)
The Bill will “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life; and for connected purposes”
My Death, My Decision welcomes this historic step, but is disappointed that the title of the Bill includes ‘terminally ill’, because those words limit the Bill’s permitted contents, meaning this Bill will exclude people who are suffering unbearably but are not necessarily terminally ill.
It’s not impossible to amend long and short titles of Bills, but it’s incredibly rare and often done for technical reasons.
The Bill will exclude most people with conditions like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Multiple Sclerosis from having the option of an assisted death. Recently, we revealed that more than half of the Brits going to Switzerland wouldn’t be helped by a bill limited to people who are dying with six months left to live or fewer.
On Monday, we published a joint letter urging parliamentarians to consider a wider law. Many of the signatories would not be helped by a law limited to the terminally ill.
The full Bill should be published within the next few weeks, the 2nd reading will take place on the 23rd November.
Trevor Moore, Chair of My Death My Decision, said:
“This is a bittersweet moment. On the one hand, the introduction of an assisted dying Bill in the House of Commons is a significant and long-awaited step. We commend Kim Leadbeater MP for putting forward the case for change, and we wholeheartedly support efforts to end the inhumane blanket ban on assisted dying.
Many conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Motor Neurone Disease can make life intolerable for the sufferer well before they can be described as terminal, or the diagnosis of terminal status may come too late, when the patient has lost mental capacity. My Death, My Decision aims to represent these people, and we will continue to do so as the Bill progresses.”
Notes:
Members of the MDMD team, as well as individuals affected by the current law on assisted dying, are available for interview upon request
For further comment or information, media should contact Nathan Stilwell at nathan.stilwell@mydeath-mydecision.org.uk or phone 07456200033.
Media can use the following press images and videos, as long as they are attributed to “My Death, My Decision”.
My Death, My Decision is a grassroots campaign group that wants the law in England and Wales to allow mentally competent adults who are terminally ill or intolerably suffering from an incurable condition the option of a legal, safe, and compassionate assisted death. With the support of over 3,000 members and supporters, we advocate for an evidence-based law that would balance individual choice alongside robust safeguards and finally give the people of England and Wales choice at the end of their lives.
