A bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales has been formally introduced in the House of Commons. MP’s are set to hold their first debate on the bill on November 29th, where they will be given a free vote on the bill, meaning they can vote individually.
Whilst the full text of the End-of-Life bill has not yet been published, the title states that, should the bill be passed, it will, quote, ‘allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.’ More details on the bill are set to be published in the coming weeks before the Commons debate.
Whilst the full text of the End-of-Life bill has not yet been published, the title states that, should the bill be passed, it will, quote, ‘allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.’ More details on the bill are set to be published in the coming weeks before the Commons debate.
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NewsTranscript
00:00So it's really important to say that Marie Curie takes a neutral stance on assisted dying.
00:08I believe deeply that that's the right thing to do.
00:11We don't want to influence the debate for or against.
00:15What our role in this is, is to address the massive postcode lottery in end-of-life care
00:23services across the United Kingdom.
00:27We know that too many people die in pain.
00:30We know that too many people across the UK don't have their needs met.
00:34Our research shows that about 90% of the population is going to need palliative care services
00:41at some point, and for us that is exactly where we want to be focusing the discussion
00:48in terms of resourcing that properly and giving people the right care and support that they
00:53need at the end of life.
00:55The current Archbishop of Canterbury has called the bill dangerous, but alternatively the
01:00previous Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, who retired from the Archbishop role
01:05in 2002, has urged Church of England bishops in the House of Lords to back a Parliamentary
01:12Bill on Assisted Dying.
01:13MP Kim Leed-Beater, the sponsor of the Assisted Dying Bill, has said that the lives of disabled,
01:19mentally ill people and vulnerable people will not be at risk from a proposed assisted
01:24dying law, as the bill is set to include stringent criteria, with each case likely
01:29to be ruled on by two doctors and a judge.
01:32The bill is still said to be one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to go
01:36before Parliament in recent years.
01:39And that's what we're all following very closely at the moment, and I'm sure there's households
01:44across the United Kingdom that are discussing this and grappling with it as a really difficult
01:51issue.
01:52We need to be completely focused on making sure that, you know, you have your needs met.