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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Assisted dying vote on a knife edge as Yes and No camps BOTH claim they have numbers to win bitter campaign over law on helping terminally ill end their lives
The vote on legalising assisted dying is on a knife-edge today with both Yes and No campaigns saying they are on course to win the increasingly close campaign. Kim Leadbeater said she is confident MPs will tomorrow back her plan to allow terminally ill people with six months or less to live to be helped to commit suicide, when it is put to a final vote tomorrow. But opponents of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill also believe they may have the numbers to see it off the proposed decriminalisation in England and Wales. Ms Leadbeater has argued terminally ill people must be given choice at the end of their lives, but opponents of her Bill have warned it fails to guarantee protections for society's most vulnerable. The legislation passed a preliminary vote last November by 55 votes. But since then more than 20 MPs who backed it have publicly changed their minds, and the Bill would fall if 28 MPs switched directly from voting yes to no on Friday. So close is the vote that Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is isolating with Covid, has been offered a private ambulance to bring her to the Commons to vote against it. MPs will get a free vote on what is known as a 'conscience matter' with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer indicating he will vote Yes and ministers Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood expected to vote No. The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. Significant changes since it succeeded in the initial vote in Parliament include the replacement of a High Court safeguard with the expert panels, and a doubling of the implementation period to a maximum of four years for an assisted dying service to be in place should the Bill pass into law. Making her case for a change in the law, Ms Leadbeater said: 'We have the most robust piece of legislation in the world in front of us tomorrow, and I know that many colleagues have engaged very closely with the legislation and will make their decision based on those facts and that evidence, and that cannot be disputed. 'But we need to do something, and we need to do it quickly.' A YouGov poll of 2,003 adults in Great Britain, surveyed last month and published on Thursday, suggested public support for the Bill remains high at 73 per cent – unchanged from November. The proportion of people who feel assisted dying should be legal in principle has risen slightly, to 75 per cent from 73 per cent in November. Friday will be the first time the Bill has been debated and voted on in its entirety since last year's historic yes vote, when MPs supported the principle. So close is the vote that Alliance MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is isolating with Covid, has been offered a private ambulance to bring her to the Commons to vote against it. However opponents claim there are not enough safeguards in the legislation as it stands to protect vulnerable people. A think tank last night warned hundreds of domestic abuse victims could be coerced into using assisted dying by their abusers. The Other Half warned that victims are already at a higher risk of taking their own lives and the situation could be exacerbated. It has estimated that as many as 631 abuse victims, who are also terminally ill, could opt to die every year within a decade, based on the Government's own calculations about the uptake of the ability to seek help to die. A poll carried out by the women's rights think tank found that two thirds of voters, men and women, are concerned about victims being pressured into dying by their abusers. The Other Half chief executive Fiona Mackenzie said: 'This bill is designed to kill people – and that extraordinary purpose needs extraordinary safeguards. 'Government cannot avoid facing up to the reality before us, we have to understand how the bill could deliver the death of those we otherwise work hard to prevent.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Assisted dying bill: Why this momentous vote remains so uncertain
The third reading and final Commons vote on Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday marks a truly historic moment for parliament. The stakes are so high that entrepreneur Declan Ganley has offered a private ambulance to MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is ill with Covid, to get her to the Commons to vote against the Bill. No wonder. It has been almost six decades since MPs have considered a Bill that would cause such a profound and fundamental change in the state's relationship with individuals and society's attitude to life and death. An historic vote In December Ms Leadbeater won a 55 majority on the second reading vote of her Bill, dealing with the principle rather than details, and is expected to carry a reduced majority today, although that is less certain than it was before. If she is successful then the state, for the first time, will be licensed to end people's lives if they wish it and if the circumstances allow. Doctors will be allowed to offer it as an alternative to people who have been given six months left to live. What factors will MPs be considering? The lack of certainty on the vote is partly fueled by the fact that a number of MPs who voted for the principle made it clear that they were allowing the debate to be had and would reserve judgment on the final vote. The debate in fact has moved on from one of principle - which only a minority oppose - to one of practicalities. The questions faced by MPs include: Can such a law be introduced to allow those with genuine terminal illnesses who wish to end their lives to do so without exposing the weak, poor and vulnerable to coercion to end their lives? Can the so-called tight restrictions be prevented from expanding beyond that through medical practice, judicial intervention or further legislation? Will this end up being a means for saving costs on the care centre and the NHS? Are the safeguards strong enough to ensure that the new law will not be abused? What will be the impact on hospices and end of life care? MPs changing their minds The reason that the vote has become tighter is because a growing number of MPs are concerned about the potential answers to those questions. The only issue will be whether that is enough to block the Bill. Based on votes on the amendments as well as known supporters and opponents, the predictive voting model used by opponents of assisted dying gives Ms Leadbeater a majority of up to 15, ranging to a defeat of the Bill by a majority of five. Very close. Key to the debate will not be the heartbreaking stories of people suffering in their final months, or celebrity voices like Esther Rantzen. They have already had their effect. More important will be the big change to the Bill brought by Ms Leadbeater which means a judge in court will not have to sign off, as originally laid out in the second reading vote. Instead, there will be an expert panel led by a judge or KC but not with the same legal authority. It is worth noting that the judicial safeguard was cited by more than 100 MPs in the first debate. The 'slippery slope' argument The other issue at play will be whether this Bill is a full stop to the issue or is something that will unleash a loosening up of the law over time. The lesson from the then Liberal MP David Steel's abortion legislation in 1967 will play a part in the decision-making of a number of MPs, who will be considering the so-called 'slippery slope' issue of an apparently tightly worded piece of legislation expanding its reach over time. Just this week we have seen MPs vote by a large majority to decriminalise abortion – effectively allowing it up to birth without criminal consequences from the 24 weeks (six months) already legislated for. But more important will be the experience of other countries where assisted dying has been legalised. Ms Leadbeater has been at pains that this is a specifically British Bill. However, in Canada, Oregon in the US, the Netherlands, and New South Wales in Australia the legislation has expanded beyond terminal illness to include mental health and other issues. Ms Leadbeater in fact highlighted a case of a couple who decided to end their own lives in Australia after 70 years of marriage even though terminal illness was not a factor. How the debate will unfold She will argue on Friday though that her Bill has been strengthened since November. Opponents will point out that she has rejected safeguards on eating disorders, mental health, the requirement of people actually suffering pain and many other apparently reasonable checks to the process. Attempts to restrict assisted death advertising were brushed aside. An attempt to protect hospices from offering assisted dying were dismissed. She had also opposed an amendment preventing doctors recommending assisted dying to children, the one defeat she has suffered so far. Many have consistently argued that a private members bill is not sufficient to debate something that will have such a profound effect on the country. Indeed, 52 Labour MPs asked Keir Starmer, a supporter of assisted dying, to give more time for further scrutiny, an appeal he rejected. The issue today will be whether all these questions and issues will mean there are enough MPs to have second thoughts from their vote in November to overturn a 55-majority. If the Bill is defeated then it will not come back before the next election, if Ms Leadbeater wins then it will have cleared its most important hurdle and a battle in the Lords awaits where many of the issues will be debated again.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Assisted dying: Why this momentous vote – with such far-reaching consequences
The third reading and final Commons vote on Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Friday marks a truly historic moment for parliament. The stakes are so high that entrepreneur Declan Ganley has offered a private ambulance to MP Sorcha Eastwood, who is ill with Covid, to get her to the Commons to vote against the Bill. No wonder. It has been almost six decades since MPs have considered a Bill that would cause such a profound and fundamental change in the state's relationship with individuals and society's attitude to life and death. An historic vote In December Ms Leadbeater won a 55 majority on the second reading vote of her Bill, dealing with the principle rather than details, and is expected to carry a reduced majority today, although that is less certain than it was before. If she is successful then the state, for the first time, will be licensed to end people's lives if they wish it and if the circumstances allow. Doctors will be allowed to offer it as an alternative to people who have been given six months left to live. What factors will MPs be considering? The lack of certainty on the vote is partly fueled by the fact that a number of MPs who voted for the principle made it clear that they were allowing the debate to be had and would reserve judgment on the final vote. The debate in fact has moved on from one of principle - which only a minority oppose - to one of practicalities. The questions faced by MPs include: Can such a law be introduced to allow those with genuine terminal illnesses who wish to end their lives to do so without exposing the weak, poor and vulnerable to coercion to end their lives? Can the so-called tight restrictions be prevented from expanding beyond that through medical practice, judicial intervention or further legislation? Will this end up being a means for saving costs on the care centre and the NHS? Are the safeguards strong enough to ensure that the new law will not be abused? MPs changing their minds The reason that the vote has become tighter is because a growing number of MPs are concerned about the potential answers to those questions. The only issue will be whether that is enough to block the Bill. Based on votes on the amendments as well as known supporters and opponents, the predictive voting model used by opponents of assisted dying gives Ms Leadbeater a majority of up to 15, ranging to a defeat of the Bill by a majority of five. Very close. Key to the debate will not be the heartbreaking stories of people suffering in their final months, or celebrity voices like Esther Rantzen. They have already had their effect. More important will be the big change to the Bill brought by Ms Leadbeater which means a judge in court will not have to sign off, as originally laid out in the second reading vote. Instead, there will be an expert panel led by a judge or KC but not with the same legal authority. It is worth noting that the judicial safeguard was cited by more than 100 MPs in the first debate. The 'slippery slope' argument The other issue at play will be whether this Bill is a full stop to the issue or is something that will unleash a loosening up of the law over time. The lesson from the then Liberal MP David Steel's abortion legislation in 1967 will play a part in the decision-making of a number of MPs, who will be considering the so-called 'slippery slope' issue of an apparently tightly worded piece of legislation expanding its reach over time. Just this week we have seen MPs vote by a large majority to decriminalise abortion – effectively allowing it up to birth without criminal consequences from the 24 weeks (six months) already legislated for. But more important will be the experience of other countries where assisted dying has been legalised. Ms Leadbeater has been at pains that this is a specifically British Bill. However, in Canada, Oregon in the US, the Netherlands, and New South Wales in Australia the legislation has expanded beyond terminal illness to include mental health and other issues. Ms Leadbeater in fact highlighted a case of a couple who decided to end their own lives in Australia after 70 years of marriage even though terminal illness was not a factor. How the debate will unfold She will argue on Friday though that her Bill has been strengthened since November. Opponents will point out that she has rejected safeguards on eating disorders, mental health, the requirement of people actually suffering pain and many other apparently reasonable checks to the process. She had also opposed an amendment preventing doctors recommending assisted dying to children, the one defeat she has suffered so far. Many have consistently argued that a private members bill is not sufficient to debate something that will have such a profound effect on the country. Indeed, 52 Labour MPs asked Keir Starmer, a supporter of assisted dying, to give more time for further scrutiny, an appeal he rejected. The issue today will be whether all these questions and issues will mean there are enough MPs to have second thoughts from their vote in November to overturn a 55-majority. If the Bill is defeated then it will not come back before the next election, if Ms Leadbeater wins then it will have cleared its most important hurdle and a battle in the Lords awaits where many of the issues will be debated again.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
MP offered private ambulance to attend assisted dying vote
Northern Irish MP Sorcha Eastwood, a vocal opponent of the assisted dying bill, was initially unable to attend a critical Westminster vote due to a Covid -19 infection. An entrepreneur offered to transport Eastwood via private ambulance if she tested negative, and she later indicated she would travel if her tests allowed. The assisted dying bill faces a very close vote, with four Labour MPs announcing a switch from supporting to opposing the legislation shortly before the vote. Over 60 disability organizations and public polling raised significant concerns about the bill's impact on people with learning disabilities, citing fears of coercion and issues with informed consent. The prime minister rejected calls for a delay to the vote, and the bill's proponent warned that rejection could mean a decade-long wait for the issue to be debated again.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
MP offered private ambulance to parliament amid fears assisted dying bill could come down to one vote
An MP has been offered the use of a private ambulance to bring her to parliament amid fears the hugely controversial assisted dying bill could come down to just a single vote. Sorcha Eastwood, a Northern Irish MP, announced earlier this week that she was unable to travel to Westminster for the crunch vote because she has Covid. She has spoken out passionately against the proposed bill, but said she did not want to put others at risk of contracting the illness. In response, the entrepreneur Declan Ganley contacted her on social media to offer to arrange transport in a private ambulance. Earlier, the MP had posted on social media: 'My heart is genuinely breaking that I can't vote tomorrow'. She said she did not believe the bill was 'competent - either in law or the societal ramifications'. Since the offer, she has posted photographs of her most recent Covid tests and said that if she tests negative on Thursday night, she will travel to Parliament for the vote. The bill is on a knife-edge, with campaigners on both sides making their final pitches to wavering MPs. MPs are sometimes 'paired' on key votes, in a system that allows two MPs with opposing positions to both miss the vote, without affecting the outcome. However, this only applies to government bills - which the assisted dying bill is not. On Thursday night, four Labour MPs Markus Campbell-Savours, Kanishka Narayan, Paul Foster and Jonathan Hinder announced they were switching their votes from yes to no. More than 60 disability organisations also wrote to MPs highlighting concerns over the potential impact of the legislation on those with learning disabilities. They cited polling commissioned by the Down's Syndrome Research Foundation, which found major fears about how people with learning disabilities could express informed consent when applying for assisted suicide. Three-quarters of the public raised concerns about the prospect of disabled people being able to consent, the polling found. It also found that nearly seven in 10 people fear those with learning disabilities may be particularly vulnerable to the risk of coercion or manipulation into an assisted suicide if the bill passes. The MP who brought the bill, Kim Leadbeater, made her own last-minute plea to MPs to support her assisted dying bill, warning that if it is rejected on Friday, terminally ill adults could face a 10-year wait before the issue is debated again. Campaigners against the legislation made a last-ditch call for a delay to the crunch final vote, with 52 Labour backbenchers asking Sir Keir Starmer to step in and give MPs more time to scrutinise the bill. But the prime minister rejected the call, saying there 'has been a lot of time discussing it, both in parliament and beyond parliament'. If the bill passes its final stage on Friday, it will then go to the House of Lords, where peers have warned that they intend to heavily scrutinise the legislation.
