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00:00Hi, I'm health reporter Sarah McCann. The proposed assisted dying bill is a private
00:06members bill that if passed would enable terminally ill people in England and Wales to be given
00:12assistance to end their own life. There will be requirements. The person must be an adult
00:18aged 18 years or older. They must be a resident either England or Wales and must have been
00:23registered at a GP practice for at least 12 months. They must be terminally ill and expected
00:29to die within six months. They must have the mental capacity to make a choice and to be
00:35deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish free from coercion. They
00:42must make two separate declarations about their decision, which will be witnessed and
00:47signed. Two independent doctors must be satisfied that they are eligible and there must be seven
00:53days between these assessments. A high court judge must hear from at least one of the
00:59doctors can ask questions the dying patient or anyone they feel is appropriate. There
01:05must be 14 days after the judge has made the ruling. Under the bill, the terminally ill
01:12person must take the substance themselves. A doctor could prepare the substance, but
01:18no doctor or anyone else would be legally allowed to administer it other than the terminally
01:23ill person. In a poll by King's College London, 63% of those who responded supported legalising
01:31assisted dying for the terminally ill. However, there were concerns about potential risks
01:36with three in five saying they would be concerned about some people being pressured into it.
01:43Under the proposed bill, it would be illegal to pressure, use dishonesty or coerce anyone
01:49to make a declaration to end their life. If someone is found guilty of this, they could
01:54face up to 14 years in jail. If the bill gets passed, the UK will join a long list of countries
02:02who have already legalised assisted dying for the terminally ill, including Canada,
02:06Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
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