Latest news with #TerminallyIllAdults
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Streeting: Assisted dying will take ‘time and money that is in short supply'
Mr Streeting, writing on his Facebook page, said he could not ignore the concerns 'about the risks that come with this Bill' raised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of Physicians, the Association for Palliative Medicine and charities representing under-privileged groups. The Government is neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which cleared the Commons with a majority of 23 votes on Friday. Mr Streeting, who was one of the most senior opponents of the legislation, said: 'Gordon Brown wrote this week that 'there is no effective freedom to choose if the alternative option, the freedom to draw on high-quality end-of-life care, is not available. Neither is there real freedom to choose if, as many fear, patients will feel under pressure to relieve their relatives of the burden of caring for them, a form of coercion that prioritising good end-of-life care would diminish.' He is right. 'The truth is that creating those conditions will take time and money. 'Even with the savings that might come from assisted dying if people take up the service – and it feels uncomfortable talking about savings in this context to be honest – setting up this service will also take time and money that is in short supply. 'There isn't a budget for this. Politics is about prioritising. It is a daily series of choices and trade-offs. I fear we've made the wrong one.' Mr Streeting said his Department of Health and Social Care 'will continue to work constructively with Parliament to assist on technical aspects of the Bill' as it goes through the House of Lords. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater steered the legislation through the Commons (Jonathan Brady/PA) Assisted dying campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen urged peers not to block the landmark legislation. Dame Esther told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I don't need to teach the House of Lords how to do their job. 'They know it very well, and they know that laws are produced by the elected chamber. 'Their job is to scrutinise, to ask questions, but not to oppose. 'So yes, people who are adamantly opposed to this Bill, and they have a perfect right to oppose it, will try and stop it going through the Lords, but the Lords themselves, their duty is to make sure that law is actually created by the elected chamber, which is the House of Commons who have voted this through.' Dame Esther, who turns 85 on Sunday and has terminal cancer, acknowledged the legislation would probably not become law in time for her to use it and she would have to 'buzz off to Zurich' to use the Dignitas clinic. Paralympian and crossbench peer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told BBC Breakfast: 'We're getting ready for it to come to the Lords and from my personal point of view, about amending it to make it stronger. 'We've been told it's the strongest Bill in the world, but to be honest, it's not a very high bar for other legislation. 'So I do think there are a lot more safeguards that could be put in.' Conservative peer and disability rights campaigner Lord Shinkwin said the narrow Commons majority underlined the need for peers to take a close look at the legislation. He told Today 'I think the House of Lords has a duty to expose and to subject this Bill to forensic scrutiny' but 'I don't think it's a question of blocking it so much as performing our duty as a revising chamber'. Lord Shinkwin added: 'The margin yesterday was so close that many MPs would appreciate the opportunity to look at this again in respect of safeguards as they relate to those who feel vulnerable, whether that's disabled people or older people.' Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who steered the Bill through the Commons, told the PA news agency she hoped peers would not seek to derail the legislation, which could run out of parliamentary time if it is held up in the Lords. She said: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.'
Metro
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Metro
Dame Prue Leith's son blasted after saying she doesn't 'see sense' in debate
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The son of Dame Prue Leith has caught backlash after speaking out on the divisive assisted dying law, saying his mother has failed to 'see sense'. Conservative MP Danny Kruger has campaigned against assisted dying, while Dame Prue has voiced her support, having watched her brother, David, in agony towards the end of his life. In the latest development, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill cleared the Commons with a majority of 23 votes on Friday. However, the legislation could face a difficult passage through the House of Lords, with critics continuing to raise safeguarding concerns and poised to table amendments adding further restrictions. Interviewed on Friday, Kruger, 50, was quizzed on having opposing views to GBBO star Dame Prue, 85. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. The South African-British restaurateur has said for years that she wants the law to pass, which, if it does, will make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to receive medical assistance to end their lives in England and Wales. There will be a series of criteria that a person must meet to be eligible. Appearing on BBC's Newsnight, Kruger was asked whether being on opposite sides of the argument has impacted his relationship with his mum. 'This debate actually has not broken any friendships for me at all, including of my own Party and certainly with my mum,' he began. 'We seem to be able to disagree well on this.' 'I think these are very profound issues, both in conscience but also practicality,' he continued. 'I regret my mum has not seen sense and come round to my point of view, but I understand why she hasn't.' It was Kruger's final statement that caught many viewers' attention, with @dicofran on X calling it 'condescending'. 'Breathtaking arrogance towards Prue Leith', slammed @JoBlandUnity. 'Massive man baby has a tantrum because a woman has her own point of view', replied @ClaireDunkley4. 'How arrogant. Accusing his own mother of not seeing sense, because she doesn't share his views', argued @NWomxn. Previously, the Tory politician said to Sky News that it is 'impossible' for the assisted dying bill to be 'tight enough'. He said no one in the UK would need the option if the UK had 'top-quality palliative care'. In a series of tweets last night, he further accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. However, Dame Prue believes his attitudes would shift had he witnessed his 'uncle die or his father die'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Asked if she and her son lock horns over the heated topic, Dame Prue admitted that they 'mostly don't get into it'. 'It always just gets into the long discussion, which is never bad-tempered, I must say, you know, because we are very fond of each other.' Kruger, who has been the MP for East Wiltshire since 2019, lost his father, Rayne Kruger, in 2002. As for his uncle, David was in his sixties and had bone cancer, with his sister Dame Prue having been by his side when he was 'screaming' in pain. Speaking to Sky broadcaster Sophie Ridge, Dame Prue recalled how morphine only worked 'for a couple of hours' with him. 'They only did it every four hours. And so he was really first crying, whimpering, moaning, then crying, then screaming, and then absolutely desperate. 'And the rest of the ward have to suffer it. The nurses have to suffer. His family have to suffer it.' She said he was 'begging for somebody to help him'. More Trending 'He would say things like, 'If I was a dog, if I was a horse, you would do the right thing by me, you'd put me down'.' Dame Prue believes there is 'no question' that the current legal set-up is not working. Other celebrities throwing their support behind the legislation include Dame Esther Rantzen, who turns 85 tomorrow. The TV star has terminal cancer but has acknowledged the law would probably not become law in time for her to use it, and she would have to 'buzz off to Zurich' to use the Dignitas clinic. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. View More » MORE: Dragons' Den star reveals their strict rule children's friends must follow MORE: Disgraced Strictly star slams 'double standards' at BBC after Naga Munchetty 'sex jibe' MORE: Legendary BBC series hailed as 'guilty pleasure' streaming on completely free UK service
The Age
a day ago
- Health
- The Age
UK parliament votes for assisted dying, paving way for historic law change
London: Britain's parliament has voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying, paving the way for the country's biggest social change in a generation. The legislation passed by a vote of 314-291, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) law would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical help. The bill now proceeds to Britain's upper chamber, the House of Lords, where it will undergo months of scrutiny. While there could be further amendments, the unelected Lords will be reluctant to block legislation that has been passed by elected members of the House of Commons. The vote puts Britain on course to follow Australia, Canada and other countries, as well as some US states, in permitting assisted dying. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government was neutral on the legislation, meaning politicians voted according to their conscience rather than along party lines. Starmer voted in favour. Loading Supporters of the bill say it will provide dignity and compassion to people suffering, but opponents worry that vulnerable people could be coerced into ending their lives. Hundreds of people gathered outside parliament to hear news of the vote.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
UK parliament votes for assisted dying, paving way for historic law change
London: Britain's parliament has voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying, paving the way for the country's biggest social change in a generation. The legislation passed by a vote of 314-291, clearing its biggest parliamentary hurdle. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) law would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live the right to choose to end their lives with medical help. The bill now proceeds to Britain's upper chamber, the House of Lords, where it will undergo months of scrutiny. While there could be further amendments, the unelected Lords will be reluctant to block legislation that has been passed by elected members of the House of Commons. The vote puts Britain on course to follow Australia, Canada and other countries, as well as some US states, in permitting assisted dying. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government was neutral on the legislation, meaning politicians voted according to their conscience rather than along party lines. Starmer voted in favour. Loading Supporters of the bill say it will provide dignity and compassion to people suffering, but opponents worry that vulnerable people could be coerced into ending their lives. Hundreds of people gathered outside parliament to hear news of the vote.
North Wales Chronicle
a day ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
