Latest news with #palliativecare
Times
2 hours ago
- Health
- Times
Assisted dying: MPs vote in favour of passing bill — watch live
Dame Meg Hillier said 'that's it' when asked what opposition MPs could do following the final Commons vote. 'We need to see funding is available for palliative care. We've had those assurances from government', the Labour and Co-operative MP for Hackney South & Shoreditch said. 'It's been a very draining exercise', she said. 'We've now got to hold everyone's feet to the fire', she said. Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, said she still had concerns over the safeguarding of vulnerable people, and for those who are 18 or are suffering from anorexia. The prime minister has voted in favour of Kim Leadbeater's bill to legalise assisted dying, which passed by 23 votes on Friday. The majority for assisted dying has decreased from 55 votes at the second reading to 23 today. The decrease reflects how some MPs have had disageements with the drafting of Kim Leadbeater's bill. MPs have voted to allow terminally ill adults to take their own lives in a historic vote. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its third reading by 314 votes to 291, a majority of 23, and will now head to the House of Lords for a further vote. Outside parliament, supporters of assisted dying celebrated as they heard the news. Sir Keir Starmer has appeared in the House of Commons chamber just before MPs began the final vote on the assisted dying bill. The prime minister had refused to confirm whether he would vote on the bill. This morning, his official spokesperson said: 'I'm not going to get ahead of proceedings in the House or speculate on the prime minister's movements.' By Peter Jackson, Head of Engagement It's interesting to note that the reported shift among MPs against Kim Leadbeater's bill is echoed by Times readers in the results of our online polls, in which more than 100,000 votes have been cast. In September last year, just before the bill was proposed, 77 per cent of readers agreed with the principle that assisted dying should be legalised. After the bill had passed its first vote at the end of November, 69 per cent of readers backed the bill. But by February this year, after a group of cross-party MPs had heard detailed evidence from experts, the mood had changed, with 60 per cent of Times readers coming out against the bill. Here's today's poll, which you can vote on now: The Labour MP Chi Onwurah has said that the principles of public service would be altered if the state administered assisted dying. She told the Commons: 'This bill could change the founding principles of the NHS. Clinicians are trained to save lives; now they will also be able to kill people. 'Our police, our armed forces, their job is to protect life and liberty; now they will also protect those who take people's lives, because this marks a fundamental change in the relationship between state and citizen. 'It requires much more public and parliamentary debate, we have not even begun to interrogate all the social implications of this change. It will change the ethos of the NHS. It will enable private companies to kill private citizens.' The MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central & West added: 'There seems to be an assumption that those who have been most unequal in life will suddenly be rendered equal in death, but the least valued by society are often those who value themselves the least.' There is a division in the Commons and MPs will now vote on the bill. Assisted dying could represent 'a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the state', Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative former minister, has warned. 'It's about the power over life and death, not just over ourselves, because we already have the power to end our own lives, it's called suicide. It is not a crime — it hasn't been a crime in this country for decades. 'This is a different power. This is about the power of the state through its agents to exercise power over life and death … but when the state takes a life, even with consent, that is a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the state.' Turning to fears of coercion, he claimed MPs have said 'that those who merely feel pressure are allowed to access this service'. In response, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater held up a printed copy of her bill and some of her supporters shouted 'no' and 'it's in the bill'. Yasmin Qureshi MP says the assisted dying bill had 'serious loopholes, ones that experts and 50 charities have warned us about'. She writes that people with anorexia could be eligible, as well as people with chronic but manageable conditions. Supporters of the bill say that it is only for people with six months left to live. She also warns that the bill had removed judicial oversight and 'replaces it with a panel that lacks independence', she said. Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator at The Times, tells Times Radio that Sir Keir Starmer's lack of input into the important debate on assisted dying is the 'perfect encapsulation' of the PM's administration so far. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. In 2022, Dave Sowry accompanied his wife Christy to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, where she chose an assisted death to end the suffering caused by her multiple sclerosis. Although her condition was not classified as terminal, Sowry and his wife believed it had become intolerable and left her with no quality of life. Following her death, Sowry was questioned by UK police but ultimately faced no legal action. He said: 'We got married in 2006. We'd been together for 20 years. 'The first conversation at Dignitas was very strange. I suddenly got this gut feeling where I just couldn't believe this was happening. 'The whole process, the legal system, encourages an unbelievable amount of anxiety and stress at what is the most difficult time in somebody's life, and that is really cruel. 'I think at the moment people only really have three options: They can continue to suffer intolerably until they die. They can go to Dignitas if they can afford to, but even then that's not an easy process. Or they can take life into their own hands. 'It's cruel. So not doing anything, not passing the law, is not a safe thing to do.' A Tory MP indicated he had changed his voting position on the assisted dying bill since it was first introduced. Mike Wood, the MP for Kingswinford & South Staffordshire, told the Commons: 'I didn't vote at second reading in November. 'The member for Spen Valley [Kim Leadbeater] in her opening speech this morning said that we could choose to vote with our head or with our heart. 'I am afraid it is that tension, that conflict, that I have been grappling with over the last few months.' He said his 'sympathy of the principle of assisted dying was as strong as it ever was', but later added he would be 'voting against this afternoon' because he did not believe the Bill offered enough safeguards. Downing Street declined to say whether Sir Keir Starmer will attend the Commons debate on the assisted dying Bill. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'I'm not going to get ahead of proceedings in the House or speculate on the prime minister's movements … the prime minister is working in Number 10, but as I say I'm not going to speculate on the PM's movements today.' Dame Prue Leith, who supports the bill, has said outside parliament: 'I'm both nervous and confident. I'm nervous to say 'we have won', because I'm superstitious. 'It's so moving to see all these people with placards of people they've lost or people who are dying of cancer. 'It's hard not to cry because I think they have done such a good job, let's hope we've won.' Leith is the mother of Daniel Kruger MP, a leading voice opposing the bill. Andrew Copson, Humanists UK chief executive, said he believes this is the moment for change. 'Parliament has been debating assisted dying for 90 years,' he said. 'Since then, the situation has only got more acute. People are living longer and more people are suffering from different conditions at the end of life. 'My grandmother had bowel cancer. She was a determined woman, knew her own mind. She knew what she wanted to do. She wasn't rich enough to go abroad. 'That made me realise there is still a taboo around talking about death, and I think we need to take death much more seriously and acknowledge the reality of it. 'And in order to have that conversation for ourselves and with the ones we love, we have to know we've got options. 'For me, it's all about freedom of choice. Every single person has the right to self determination over the most intimate of things they have, which is their own body.' Even if MPs vote to pass the assisted dying bill today, it is not the end of the process. The next step is the House of Lords, where the bill would face further scrutiny. Peers are expected to examine the details and propose amendments to the bill that will have to be debated and passed in the Commons. As this is a private members' bill put forward by Kim Leadbeater, Labour MP for Spen Valley, the Lords stages pose even more of a challenge. Private members' bills are not government business and have tight time restraints, which means there is the chance that too many amendments in the Lords could in effect see the whole bill cut off before the end of the parliament. Peers could also vote against the bill in its entirety. Longstanding convention is that the unelected House of Lords does not vote against manifesto promises that got the government into power. But as this is Leadbeater's bill and wasn't one of Labour's election pledges, peers might feel emboldened to block the bill as a whole. Supporters will hope that the bill could be granted royal assent — the final stage before completion — before the end of 2025. But even if the bill is finalised this year, the legislation comes with an implementation period of up to four years to allow the courts and the health service to catch up. This means there could be no legal assisted deaths in the UK this decade. The NHS is not ready to handle assisted dying, Sir James Cleverly has said. In a speech in the Commons, the former home secretary said the NHS would have to divert resources to deal with setting up assisted dying within the four-year period defined in the bill. He said the deadline would result in the writing of a 'blank cheque' for the service to get it up and running. 'Commencement dates matter, they are not just some arbitrary date on a piece of paper and I understand the desire of people to make sure this can't be lost down the back of the sofa when it comes to government work', he said. 'But when people upon whom we rely to deliver this say they are not ready and they don't feel they will be ready, they don't have enough people, they don't have enough capacity, they will have to take resource from current provisions to move across to this provision which will be driven by a statutory requirement and a locked in commencement date, we should listen. 'We should listen and if the people who are going to make this work and work as well as we hope it will if it becomes legislation say that they are not confident that they can make it happen, we should be very, very careful about demanding that they prioritise this and that is what this legislation says.' The chief executive of Care Not Killing called for MPs to reject the bill. Speaking outside Parliament, Dr Gordon Macdonald said: 'As this is a private members' bill, the MP in charge of the bill was able to choose who she wanted in the committee, choose who she wanted to give evidence and decide which amendments would be accepted and which wouldn't, so I believe the whole process is completely flawed and I believe the government needs to hold responsibility for this. 'Keir Starmer should have taken responsibility for this.' He added: 'We're seeing more MPs who are voting against it which doesn't surprise me as the more people think about this issue the more likely they are to support it.' Outside Parliment, more campaign groups have gathered with banners and placards with slogans ranging from 'no to assisted suicide', 'legalise assisted dying and let us choose' and 'don't make doctors killers.' At the rally is Louise Shackleton, 58, from North Yorkshire. She said her husband Anthony was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2018. He died by assisted suicide at Dignitas in December 2024 to avoid the suffering and loss of autonomy it would bring. Shackleton accompanied him to Switzerland and, upon returning, surrendered herself to police. Despite the ongoing investigation, she has no regrets and believes that if assisted dying was legal in the UK, their family could have been together during Anthony's final moments. 'Knowing the exact date when your loved one's going to die is difficult. But I had to weigh that up with if he didn't go there, what his death would be like for him. This journey wasn't about me. It was all about him. His choice, his decision,' she said. 'For me, ideally the bill goes through and that people are allowed to have autonomy in how they end their lives.' Teachers Catie and Becky Fenner joined a group of Dignity in Dying campaigners in Parliament Square ahead of this afternoon's vote. Their mother, who had motor neurone disease, flew to Dignitas in Switzerland to end her life. The sisters said that worrying about the legal implications of this meant they did not get to properly say goodbye and grieve. Catie, 37, from Oxfordshire, said: 'We were left quite traumatised by the whole experience — not only seeing a parent go through a really horrible disease but then the secrecy of the planning. 'We have had grief counselling. We don't want any other family to go through what we went through. 'We want families to be able to say goodbye in this country without the fear of prosecution.' Anorexia patients could still access assisted dying through a 'loophole', Labour MP Naz Shah has warned. Referring to her amendment 14, to prevent a patient meeting the requirements for an assisted death 'solely as a result of voluntarily stopping eating or drinking' — which MPs backed earlier today — and a further amendment 38 which was not added to the bill, Shah told the Commons: 'This is not the anorexia loophole that has been closed — that was another amendment. 'When people stop voluntarily eating and drinking, that is not what happens to people with anorexia. People with anorexia stop eating and drinking because they have a psychiatric illness. These are two categorically different issues. 'So I must make it clear, absolutely clear, even though amendment 14 has passed today, this amendment does not address concerns about anorexia or close that loophole.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Sir Roger Gale, who is standing in for the Speaker, has told MPs they have limited time to debate the third reading of the assisted dying bill. A vote must be called before 2.30pm, as per parliamentary procedure. Sir Roger said: 'It's understandable that a lot of members would wish to take part on both sides of the House and in both sides of the argument. 'Looking around, it's quite clear we cannot accommodate everybody. 'That means that inevitably, it is likely that will be quite a considerable number of interventions. 'All I would say — gently — is that interventions will be taken into account when considering the order of priority in which members are called.' Tracy Acheampong, 22, a nursing student at University of Birmingham, said it was important to be here today with the BLW Campus Ministry Church group in order to show her concerns around safeguarding with the law. She said: ' I believe that despite there being sickness and death, there is hope. As somebody who has worked in the healthcare field since the day I turned 18, I've seen countless deaths. And I don't think the failure of our healthcare system should warrant people deciding to take their own lives or because they feel like a burden or that they think there is no hope in their situation. 'But I don't think passing on this law will assist them. I've seen so many people deteriorate to their lowest point. I've worked in hospices and care homes where people stop seeing their relatives until the point of death.' Mother of the House Diane Abbott said she was not opposed to the principle of assisted dying, but urged MPs to reject the bill for fear that 'people will lose their lives who do not need to'. The Labour MP said: 'I came to this House to be a voice for the voiceless. Who could be more voiceless than somebody who is in their sickbed and believes they are dying? 'I ask members in this debate to speak up for the voiceless one more time, because there is no doubt that if this bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not need to, and they will be amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.' Kim Leadbeater has warned the Commons the assisted dying bill 'is not a choice between living and dying — it is a choice for terminally ill people about how they die'. The Labour MP added: 'I fully appreciate that there are some colleagues who would never vote for any version of this bill due to their own fundamental beliefs — be they religious or otherwise. 'I am respectful of their views, despite disagreeing, but to those colleagues who are supportive of a change in the law but are hesitant about if now is the time — if we don't vote to change the law today — what does that mean? 'It means we will have many more years of heartbreaking stories from terminally ill people and their families, of pain and trauma, suicide attempts, PTSD, lonely trips to Switzerland, police investigations and everything else we have all heard over recent months.' Sir James Cleverly has said he was 'concerned about the practicalities' of the bill. The Conservative former minister also told the Commons: 'I have no doubt the vast majority … in this House is sympathetic with the underlying motivation of this bill.' Describing himself as an atheist, he added: 'I've had this said to me on a number of occasions, 'if you had seen someone suffering, you would agree with this bill'. 'Well, Mr Speaker, I have seen someone suffering — my closest friend earlier this year died painfully of oesophageal cancer and I was with him in the final weeks of his life. 'So I come at this not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance.' Sister Doreen Cunningham, who cares for elderly people, attended a gathering outside parliament to oppose the 'lazy' bill. The nun said: 'I feel the need to speak for the vulnerable people. This bill suppresses the people who do not receive proper care. 'It is the lazy way out instead of giving patients the proper care they deserve. 'A lot of work could be done in the NHS to reform it.' Sister Doreen said she worried people would be scared if the assisted dying bill was offered to them. Choosing not to support the assisted dying bill is 'not a neutral act', Kim Leadbeater has told the Commons. The Labour MP for Spen Valley said: 'It is an either/or decision for us today — either we vote for the safe effective workable reform contained in this bill or we say the status quo is acceptable. 'Over recent months I have heard hundreds of stories from people who have lost loved ones in deeply difficult and traumatic circumstances … along with many terminally ill people themselves.' She added: 'Not supporting the bill today is not a neutral act, it is a vote for the status quo … and it fills me with despair to think MPs could be here in another 10 years' time hearing the same stories.' Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has told parliament that the assisted dying bill had sparked 'different views'. She was responding to Conservative former minister Simon Hoare who intervened in her speech, and asked whether she was 'concerned' about 'the growing canon of professionals and their independent professional bodies' who 'have urged great caution' and were 'opposed to the details of this bill and believe it should be defeated?' Leadbeater, who tabled the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, replied: 'I think what he's saying is people have got different views … we have different views in this House and different people in different professions have different views. 'Every royal college has a neutral position on assisted dying.' Jonathan Dimbleby has joined campaigners for assisted dying outside parliament, where the veteran presenter was photographed posing for selfies with activists from Dignity in Dying. His brother, the sculptor Nicholas Dimbleby, died with motor neurone disease. He said: 'Last year my younger brother Nicholas, who was a very fine sculptor, much loved by everyone, a very funny man who was a centre of everyone's attention, he was stricken by motor neurone disease. 'I watched him wither away physically. I watched him become a shell until he died with his mind intact, his body broken. 'And I talked to him about this, and I asked him, do you want to me campaign on this because he wanted to have that right, and he said 'yes, please do'.' • Jonathan Dimbleby's hardest interview: with his dying brother A black van passed by the crowds in Parliament Square with an electronic screen which read messages against the bill. It was set up by organisation and flashed: 'Kill the Bill, not the ill', 'No safeguards. No oversight. No compassion' and 'Stop the NHS from becoming the National Homicide Service.' Dame Prue Leith has joined campaigners outside Parliament showing their support for the assisted dying bill. The 85-year-old writer, restaurateur and Great British Bake Off presenter said she was 'quietly confident' about the vote's outcome after a lengthy, 'hard and uphill battle'. Leith added: 'I find it so moving to see all the photographs of people you've lost or who are dying of cancer as we speak. 'It is utterly disgraceful that in a civilised world, we should be allowing this. 'Today, I hope we are going to win. I try to be quietly confident. But whether we win or lose, you have done a fantastic job, and I hope we're not going to have to ask you to do it again.' Kim Leadbeater said the assisted dying bill she is sponsoring will 'offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it'. Speaking at today's third reading, the Labour MP for Spen Valley told the Commons: 'I have been pleased to work with members on all sides of the debate to ensure that this legislation is something that parliament can be proud of. 'A cogent, workable bill that has one simple thread running through it — the need to correct the profound injustices of the status quo and to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it.' MPs have started the final debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The outcome will lead to it either clearing the House of Commons and moving to the Lords, or falling completely — the latter of which could mean the issue might not return to Westminster for a decade. The relatively narrow majority of 55 from the historic yes vote last November means every vote will count today. The bill would fall if 28 MPs switched directly from voting yes to no, but only if all other MPs voted the same way as in November, including those who abstained. Outside the houses of Parliament, peaceful crowds have already gathered ahead of the vote, clutching banners and chanting 'our freedom, our choice, listen to our voice.' Among those is Catriona MacFarlan, 45, holding a blue sign with the words 'freedom of choice', who had travelled down from Edinbugh in the early hours of the morning to be here for the vote. She said: 'My dad is terminally ill. He is not able to to have a dignified ending. It's going to be horrible as he carries on. But there are no protections for people like him. So I just want to give people the choice to end their lives with dignity, surrounded by their family and loved ones, and not have to suffer a really horrible ending.' Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter has admitted she struggled to sleep last night in anticipation of today's vote on assisted dying. Rebecca Wilcox, who was outside Parliament to champion the Dignity in Dying campaign, said she hoped the bill would be passed. She said: 'This is such an important time for this bill, the third and final vote, and then hopefully it will go on to the House of Lords. 'It couldn't be more entrenched with safeguards; it couldn't be a kinder, more compassionate bill that respects choice at the end of life, that respects kindness and empathy and gives us all an option when every other option has been taken away. 'It would be the perfect tool for a palliative care doctor to have in their med bag.' A ban on advertising assisted dying would be extended to all of the UK, should the bill pass, MPs have agreed. They also voted for the UK-wide extension of regulations about approved substances intended to be used to help terminally ill patients to die. Politicians have this morning approved an opt-out for medical professionals being extended to Scotland. MPs voted 275 in favour, 209 against, majority 66. MPs have agreed to an amendment that requires the government to publish an assessment of palliative and end-of-life care within one year of the Act's passage. They have nodded through amendment 21 — one of multiple proposed tweaks to the bill. MPs called 'aye' to approve Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson's amendment. It means that ministers would have to consider the state of health services for patients near the end of their lives, covering pain and symptom management, psychological support and access to information. Religious leaders are making last-minute bids to sway undecided MPs, hoping to convince them to oppose assisted dying. The Bishop of London, the Right Rev Sarah Mullally, who is also England's former chief nursing officer, said it was an 'unsafe and unworkable' bill and said: 'If enacted, this bill would arrive amidst hugely inequitable access to palliative care and an NHS on life support. The potential for abuse and uninformed or coerced decisions is enormous. 'This is not about so-called progressivism versus conservatism, or atheism versus religion. This is about the kind of society we want to live in.' She said the parliamentary process had 'presented more unanswered questions, left more doubts, and seen so-called protections crumble away before even coming into law'. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, said: 'A right to assisted suicide given to individuals is highly likely to become a duty on care homes and hospices to facilitate it. We fear that this bill will thereby seriously affect the provision of social care and palliative care across the country.' A vote must be called before 2.30pm, as per parliamentary procedure. MPs in the House of Commons have this morning been voting on changes within the bill since it was last put to them in November. 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. This request would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, a senior legal figure and a psychiatrist. MPs have agreed that ministers should get powers to update the National Health Service Act 2006 as part of the bill, to include voluntary assisted dying services as part of the NHS's purposes. Amid fears the bill could become 'the Trojan horse that breaks the NHS', Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP, pushed her amendment 12 to a vote, which would have blocked ministers from broadening the NHS's purposes without a fresh bill. But MPs rejected her proposal 269 votes to 223, majority 46. While there is no obligation on MPs to take part in the free vote, those present today in the House of Commons also have the option to formally abstain. Health Secretary Wes Streeting described bill sponsor Kim Leadbeater's work on the proposed legislation as 'extremely helpful', but confirmed in April that he still intended to vote against it. Vicky Foxcroft received hugs and other gestures of support from her Labour backbench colleagues as she appeared in the Commons a day after resigning as a government whip over welfare reform proposals she could not support. The Labour MP for Lewisham North was seen walking through the chamber as MPs took part in votes on the assisted dying bill this morning. Several colleagues approached her, offering warm words, hugs, an arm on the shoulder or a pat on the back, following her decision to resign from the government. Will Keir Starmer vote today? The prime minister is working from Number 10 and is yet to make a decision, despite the historic nature of the vote. There is a suggestion that Starmer, who is in favour of assisted dying, could enter into an informal 'pairing' arrangement with David Lammy, the foreign secretary who is opposed but currently in Geneva for negotiations with Iran. Officials insist that no decision has been made, and say he is still weighing up whether to attend. But in politics perceptions matter, and failing to take part in the vote could be viewed by some as a sign that he is cooling on the idea. A proposal to disapply the presumption that a person has capacity unless the opposite is established in cases of assisted dying requests has been rejected by MPs. The Commons voted 213 to 266, majority 53 to reject amendment 24, which was tabled by Daniel Francis, the Labour MP for Bexleyheath & Crayford. In November last year, MPs voted in favour of the assisted dying bill but some MPs have already indicated they will changes sides on Friday. This is how they voted in the last reading of the bill. MPs have this morning voted to reject an amendment which would have prevented a person who is substantially motivated by feeling they are a burden from qualifying for assisted dying. Conservative MP Rebecca Paul's new clause 16 stated that a wish to end one's own life should not be substantially motivated by factors such as a mental disorder, disability or suicidal ideation. The Commons voted 208 to 261, majority 53 against. Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, has told Times Radio that Kim Leadbeater's private member's bill to legalise assisted dying is 'dangerous' and a public safety issue'. Calling for its rejection, she said: 'The bill is ultimately flawed. Today we're not voting on the principle of this bill, we're voting on the legislation. 'That's my job and the amendments that I have tabled to close the anorexia loophole hasn't been closed, it's not been accepted, it won't be voted on and that leaves huge loopholes and it's not safe. For me it's a public safety issue, this bill.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has urged her MPs to vote against the legislation, describing it as 'a bad bill' despite being 'previously supportive of assisted suicide'. She claimed it has 'not been done properly'. On Thursday, Badenoch said that although she had previously supported the idea, 'this is not how we should do legislation like this'. She also said she does not believe the 'NHS and other services are ready'. Badenoch added, 'I will be voting no and I hope as many Conservative MPs as possible will be supporting me in that'. MPs are entitled to have a free vote on the bill, meaning they decide according to their conscience rather than along party lines. If it is passed today, it will then be scrutinised by the House of Lords. Sky News said that it is hard to predict at this stage how the upper chamber will react to it, given the unusual combination of a free vote on a private member's bill. However, it warned there was a 'small chance' of upper chamber delays 'to stop it by keeping it in limbo until the king's speech to parliament later this year'. Decca Aitkenhead was nine when a GP risked jail to help her mother to die. Years later she watched her best friend succumb to the slow torture of Huntington's disease, and for a few days she found herself confronting her own death. She tells Jane Mulkerrins how those experiences have shaped her views on assisted dying. Public support for the bill remains high, according to the latest YouGov poll. 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. Its survey of 2,003 adults in Great Britain took place last month and the findings were published yesterday. Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, has warned that defeat for the bill would end hopes of changing the law for another decade as she rejected claims of rushing through reform. She insisted her bill is 'the most robust piece of legislation in the world' and has argued dying people must be given choice at the end of their lives in a conversation which has seen support from high-profile figures including Dame Esther Rantzen. Leadbeater said it had 'gone through hours and hours and hours of scrutiny', adding: 'This is not being rushed through, this is not a quick thing that's happened overnight.' Four Labour MPs confirmed on the eve of today's vote that they will switch sides to oppose the proposed new law. Paul Foster, Jonathan Hinder, Markus Campbell-Savours and Kanishka Narayan wrote to fellow MPs to voice concerns about the safety of the proposed legislation. They branded it as being 'drastically weakened', citing the scrapping of the High Court Judge safeguard as a key reason. However, Bill sponsor Kim Leadbeater has insisted that replacing the judge's approval with multidisciplinary panels strengthens the legislation, as it will incorporate wider expert knowledge to assess assisted dying applications. Protesters and campaigners have been gathering this morning in Westminster before the vote on the assisted dying bill. Photos from the scene show supporters from campaign group Dignity in Dying holding pink placards with white letters urging 'legalise assisted dying, vote yes today.' Opponents of the bill are wearing white masks with the word 'euthanise' on the forehead, and they are holding white signs saying 'don't make doctors killers' and 'protect our NHS from becoming a national suicide service'. In 1937, Switzerland legalised assisted suicide provided those doing the assisting were not motivated by 'any selfish intent'. Six decades later, the US state of Oregon legalised physician-assisted suicide for people with less than six months to live. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to decriminalise assisted dying. As MPs vote on the bill today, this is how other countries in the world compare. Read in full: Where is assisted dying legal? How the rules worldwide compare More than 7,500 terminally ill people a year could seek state support to end their life within a decade of the practice being legalised, the government estimates. Officials believe about 60 per cent of requests for assisted dying would be approved, equating to approximately 4,500 or 0.68 per cent of all deaths from 2039 onwards. The findings came in an impact assessment drawn up by the Department for Health and Social Care. Officials also estimated that legalising the practice in the UK could cost the NHS tens of millions of pounds. Staff time costs ranged from £412,000 to £1.98 million in year one, to between £2.6 million and £11.5 million in year ten. MPs will today take part in the final Commons vote on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales. Politicians supported legalising assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275. However, since then the outcome has become too close to call, after analysis by The Times showed that margin eroding. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation. One change is to replace the role of a High Court judge in signing off an application for an assisted death with a panel of experts. This panel would contain a senior lawyer, a psychiatrist, and a social worker. Advocates of assisted dying believe their bill will pass its final Commons vote on Friday, despite a shift among MPs against it. Kim Leadbeater, the MP who proposed the law change, denied the bill has been rushed and remained confident MPs would vote in favour of it. Read in full: Assisted dying vote 'too close to call' as MPs turn against bill Sir Keir Starmer has yet to decide whether he will take part in today's landmark vote on assisted dying as he deals with the Middle East crisis. The prime minister, who is in favour of assisted dying, is working from Downing Street today but could end up missing the vote depending on his commitments as he seeks to deescalate the conflict between Iran and Israel. A government source said no decision as been made He backed assisted dying in 2015 and has signalled that his view has not changed. The issue is deeply divisive and has split the Labour Party. Starmer said this week: 'It is a matter for individual parliamentarians, which is why I've not waded in with a view on this publicly, and I'm not going to now it's coming to a conclusion. 'There has been a lot of time discussing it, both in Parliament and beyond Parliament, and quite right too. It's a really serious issue. 'My own position is long-standing and well-known in relation to it, based on my experience when I was chief prosecutor for five years, where I oversaw every case that was investigated.'
CBC
4 hours ago
- Health
- CBC
Brothers who gave $50K for palliative care room at nursing home learn tough lesson
Social Sharing The moment brothers Alan and Glenn von Weiler saw the palliative care room at their father's former nursing home — created in his memory — was one for the books, they say. "I think my dad would have been so happy," Glenn said. "My dad believed in giving back to the community. He did that all his life, and now he was able to do it posthumously." But just over a year after they saw the new palliative care room at the Fundy Nursing Home in Blacks Harbour, the brothers have a sour taste in their mouths. They learned from staff at the home that the room has been taken apart. In December 2022, Alan and Glenn's father, Joost, died after living at the home for a while. Shortly before his death, the brothers were so pleased with the care he had received from staff that they decided to make a $50,000 donation to the Fundy Nursing Home. The brothers, who live in Saint John, about 70 kilometres east of the home, spoke with the administrator at the time and ultimately decided on a palliative care room. The money would go into a trust set aside for the room. "It's life-changing for the families, so, you know, they deserve respect — they're not numbers, they're people," Alan said. The largest expenses for the project were the $15,000 in renovations that had to be done and the specialized palliative care bed, which cost about $15,300. Other features of the room included a pull-down, or Murphy bed, kitchenette items, and a heat pump. A shadowbox with their father's photo, a biography, and some of the paintings he did during his life were also added. WATCH | How much do a donor's wishes actually matter? Saint John brothers share cautionary donation story 3 hours ago Duration 3:26 On March 7, 2024, the palliative care room opened, with the von Weiler brothers in attendance. Not only did the room have everything a family could need for loved ones at the end of their lives, they said, but it also had a homey atmosphere that didn't come with regular rooms for residents. But recently, the von Weilers were informed by staff that the room had been disassembled — something the brothers never expected. "The enthusiasm from the staff was phenomenal," Alan said of the palliative care room. "How could I ever think that someone would go in and just take it apart?" The von Weilers wanted to get official confirmation of the dismantling, so they contacted Constance Gilman, the current administrator for the nursing home. In response, they received a letter, which they shared with CBC News. "I would like to apologize to your family about the misinformation that was shared with you, and would like to take the time to explain to you what the home plans to do to ensure that this important service is still in place and that your donation is not forgotten," Gillman wrote. She went on to say that the palliative care bed was being used for a non-palliative care resident because it was more comfortable for that person. "But the problem is, if you have someone coming up that needs a palliative care bed … that bed's not going to be available," Alan said. Because you can't remove a patient from a bed so another one can take the bed. He said the bed, with a special mattress to prevent bed sores, was specifically for palliative residents. Gilman's letter said that to avoid causing discomfort, the home didn't want to transfer a palliative care resident to the new bed. Brothers understand move She also said the palliative care room had been moved to another location with a wider doorway, so resident beds could be rolled into it. The room was now closer to the nursing desk to "minimize the risk" of a resident being "forgotten," she said. The brothers said the former administrator chose a location a little removed from the general traffic area to provide more privacy for families. But even so, Glenn said, he understands that patient health has to come first and moving the room was understandable, if it had the same fixtures as the previous one. Gilman's letter said the kitchenette items would be moved to the new space, but the Murphy bed was broken, so if families wanted to stay overnight, a sleeper chair could be rolled in. The art and the memoriam shadowbox would be put back as well, the letter said. After reading the letter, the von Weilers asked to see the new room. "It was basically an empty room with a recliner in it and a small little kitchenette," Glenn said. "If someone needed a palliative care room that day, it was not available. "I don't think that you should shut something down without opening up the new one." CBC News requested an interview with Gilman but did not receive a response. The von Weilers are still grateful for the care their father received while at the nursing home, but this experience makes them think they would have chosen a different location to donate to, had they known what was going to happen. They wonder if anything would have been different if they'd had a written contract outlining the request. The agreement with the home was a verbal one, aside from a receipt from the home that said, "Donation to memorial fund palliative care room." But legally speaking, there isn't anything that can be done in this situation, according to Toronto business lawyer Jonathan Kleiman. A promise to do something specific with the donated money could be enforceable, he said, but without a proper contract, it's a flippant promise. And even with a proper written agreement, Kleiman said, it's unlikely the contract would have specified a specific length of time that the room had to remain. "I find it very hard to believe that the nursing home meant to offer anything in perpetuity," Kleiman said. "So all the more reason to have something in writing, so you understand what you guys are getting, and there's no misunderstandings." The von Weilers believe this situation will make them more careful with future donations. They'll ask more questions and get things in writing. One of the most upsetting parts of the experience for the von Weilers was how they found out — from a staff member and not management. "I think it's just respect," Glenn said. "If you have people in the community investing in the community, I think that they deserve to know what's going on."
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
I hope this is the last piece I ever have to write about assisted dying
MPs, read this horror before you vote today. Here's how some people are slowly dying, right now, in mortal agony untreatable by the best palliative care: 'Some will retch at the stench of their own body rotting. Some will vomit their own faeces. Some will suffocate, slowly, inexorably, over several days.' An average of 17 people a day are dying these bad deaths, according to 2019 figures, as reported by palliative care professionals who see it happen. The Inescapable Truth, a report from Dignity in Dying, revealed what is usually kept hidden from us: the shocking last months for the unluckiest. It could happen to you or me. The assisted dying bill's final Commons vote today is no abstract debate about slippery slopes or what God wants: to do nothing is to inflict torture on many. The vote may be tight: unwhipped private members' bills rely on MPs turning up. At second reading, 330 were in favour, 275 against. After 100 hours of detailed scrutiny and many strict amendments, more than 40 MPs switched both ways. No longer a judge, but an expert panel with a lawyer, social worker and psychiatrist will examine each application. Compromises include a four-year wait after royal assent for the service to be set up. An ITV News vote tracker expects 154 MPs to vote for it, 144 against, 22 undecided and 21 abstainers. Opponents are wheeling out their last-gasp tactics. Catholic bishops this week warned that the future of care homes and hospices will be put into 'grave doubt' by the legislation: 'Institutions whose mission has always been to provide compassionate care in sickness or old age, and to provide such care until the end of life, may have no choice, in the face of these demands, to withdraw from the provision of such care.' Disingenuous is a polite word – under the bill, health and social care workers can refuse involvement in the assisted dying process. God moves in such mysterious ways that some of his followers hide his involvement, without publicly revealing their religious reasons for opposing. The campaign group Our Duty of Care doesn't mention God on its website – nor the fact it shares an office with and is financed by evangelical groups. Membership of Care Not Killing, which runs the Our Duty of Care campaign, is largely religious. Only God ordains the time of our entrances and exits. The mystery is its secretiveness. Presumably that's because his word cuts very little mustard in a country where 53% have no religion. Others of the faith avoid mentioning him, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg on GB News, accusing Labour of 'a cult of death', with Labour MPs 'voting to finish off the elderly' in the week of the 'terrible vote from the House of Commons to allow infanticide of babies in the womb', after the Commons decriminalised women ending their pregnancies. Cult of death? That sounds more applicable to those willing to let others die in painful agony. But not all opponents are religious. One of the oddest is the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). Although the bill requires patients to be mentally competent to request assisted dying, among other objections the RCPsych reminds MPs that 'terminal illness is a risk factor for suicide'. That's the point – a time when suicide might be quite rational. Offering psychiatry instead of an easeful potion could be greeted with expletives from those in agony. Disability groups have been persuasive, fearing they may be pushed towards shortening their lives, always at risk of being treated as inconvenient. But polling of those with disabilities shows 78% in favour assisted dying, in line with the rest of the population. Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man have moved ahead of England on this, and France just joined the many countries in legalising the right to die. Hundreds travel to Dignitas in Switzerland: 52% of Brits say they would consider this grim and lonely death, but few can afford the £15,000. About 650 suicides of the dying are recorded; there may be more of these lonely, unassisted deaths. If I sound intemperate, it's the memory of my mother's prolonged painful death: she thought her good GP would ease her way out but, post-Shipman, he couldn't. No, as some hope, morphine is not a kindly drug wafting you away – it can't remove all pain. Enough people have witnessed bad deaths that public opinion is strongly behind the right to die. Opponents warn people may be pushed into a faster death because they are a perceived burden on their family. To avoid inflicting suffering on those around you seems to me a good reason for not leaving a miserable memory of your final months. Knowing it's an option, even if never used, will comfort many given a terminal diagnosis. What if, opponents keep warning, someone is pressed into it? Everything is a balance of risks: set the absolute certainty of some horrible deaths against the possibility that a dying person may lose a few months of life. Which is worse? As Labour reaches one year in office, this vote should join this week's abortion decriminalisation as another milestone in the long history of personal freedoms that is always the party's legacy. While Harold Wilson never personally backed Roy Jenkins's long list of radical reforms, Keir Starmer has vociferously supported both bills. If it passes, it goes to the Lords, where 26 bishops will do their damnedest to stop it, reminding us why they should be removed along with the hereditaries. I have written often over many years on the right to die when we choose. I hope I never need to again. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Assisted dying bill supporter scared of 'being trapped in pain'
A woman who is "terrified" of being "trapped" in pain has said assisted dying should be available to all those "suffering intolerably".Gemma Williams, from Carmarthenshire, has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 20 years and said her condition can affect her sight, leave her unable to leave bed and cause real Friday MPs will vote on proposed legislation to allow people in England and Wales approaching the end of their life to access medical help to opponents say the plans are "unsafe". "It's awful when I've had periods where I'm just in so much pain on a daily basis," said Ms Williams, from Llanddeusant."Luckily I know that there's been periods of remission, and it has eased, but if that was my reality and it was going to be there all the time I really don't know how I would deal with that."The 47-year-old said she believed assisted dying should be available for all those "suffering intolerably"."You can have the best palliative care in the world and still be in pain and suffering," she said."Why prolong it and be forced to go on suffering?"It's wrong that somebody else should tell me I have to continue living in agony when I don't want to and there's no way of alleviating that pain." What is the assisted dying bill? The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was introduced by Labour MP Kim proposes letting terminally ill people end their life if they:are over 18, live in England or Wales, and have been registered with a GP for at least 12 monthshave the mental capacity to make the choice and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish, free from coercion or pressureare expected to die within six monthsmake two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to diesatisfy two independent doctors that they are eligible - with at least seven days between each assessmentCritics of the bill include Paralympian and House of Lords crossbencher Baroness Grey-Thompson."The current bill is unsafe, this is not about the principle, it is about the detail," she told BBC Wales. "The bill would allow any doctor to raise this no matter how vulnerable the patient is, including those with learning disabilities. "Private for profit contractors can run the service with no profit cap and no transparency obligations," she added. What is the assisted dying vote on Friday? On Friday MPs will vote on whether to pass or reject the entire they vote in favour, it will move on to the House of Lords for further consideration. If they do not support it, the bill will MPs last voted on the bill in November it was backed by 330 votes to Wales' 32 MPs, 23 voted in favour, six voted against and three did not Labour MP for Vale of Glamorgan Kanishka Narayan has already said he will vote against the bill on Friday having supported it in told BBC Wales that while he believed "in the principle" of assisted dying, "the safeguards currently present leave just too many vulnerable people exposed to either misinformed or coerced death".Meanwhile, Labour MP for Rhondda and Ogmore Sir Chris Bryant - who abstained in November - has said he will back the bill this Cymru's Liz Saville Roberts has supported the legislation to date and ahead of Friday's vote said "we cannot look away from suffering simply because the legislation is difficult".However her Plaid colleague Ann Davies will vote against the bill, and said she was "not convinced this legislation provides adequate safeguards for the most vulnerable".Monmouthshire Labour MP Catherine Fookes said she would back the plans after seeing her father's experience with illness and palliative care."Sadly, the current law is failing too many terminally ill people," she said. How would assisted dying work in Wales? Before a vote is held on the bill as a whole, the Commons will first have to complete discussions and vote on outstanding amendments, including one that relates to the power of the Welsh a previous change to the bill, as things stand the Senedd would have the right to choose when most of the bill would become law in is seeking to reverse that, leaving the Senedd with powers over how the system would work within the Welsh NHS, but not over the law as a of the Senedd (MSs) voted against the principle of an assisted dying law last October, with 19 in support and 26 those opposed at the time were First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Minister Jeremy Miles - senior figures in the government who would be tasked with implementing the bill in the bill completes its journey through the UK Parliament and becomes law, the Senedd would have to vote again on whether they agree with the is expected that vote would take place in the autumn.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Assisted dying: supporters and opponents of bill on hopes and fears ahead of crucial vote
Ever since Pamela Fisher was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, the fear of dying in pain and discomfort has been keeping her awake at night. 'I don't want to die, not now. I love life and I want to live. But that said, I live in terror at the prospect of how my final weeks of life could turn out,' the 64-year-old said. 'I know that even with the best palliative care available, there are limits to what can be done. It's a dead weight of fear I carry around with me.' Fisher, a former academic and authorised Church of England preacher, is a strong supporter of the assisted dying bill which MPs will debate in a crucial vote on Friday – she hopes it will pass, and come into force in enough time to give her the option of an assisted death when the time comes. Although cancer has now spread to her bones, which makes walking difficult, she has travelled from her home in Huddersfield to join the planned demonstration outside parliament for the bill's third reading. 'Despite all my disabilities and pain, I'll be there until the end, until the vote comes through,' she said. 'I'm hanging all my hopes on it. It would be quite devastating if it is defeated.' Her views have led to some tense exchanges with other members of the church, whose leaders have spoken out against the legislation – the Bishop of London said it may mean vulnerable people are compelled to hasten their death. 'I can't reconcile Christian compassion with the status quo that obliges people to a drawn out process of dying in pain when this is against their will and they have the capacity to choose,' Fisher said. 'People use this concept of the sanctity of life which is completely central to Christian teaching. But I reject the assumption that the sanctity of life requires telling terminally ill people to undergo a painful death when they don't want to.' Most debates in her congregation about the subject have been civilised, she said, although she sometimes feel as if she's marginalised as a terminal cancer patient. 'It's like you're not taken as seriously – people think 'well she would say that, wouldn't she?',' she said. On the other side of the debate, there are people alarmed the legislation could lead to abuse, coercion or people dying earlier than needed, particularly in cases of misdiagnosis and inaccurate prognosis. Peter Sefton-Williams, 72, was diagnosed with suspected motor neurone disease by two neurologists in January 2024, and joined Dignitas after deciding he wanted to opt for an assisted death. 'I was so completely shocked. I did very much think about ending my life because I live on my own and I'm not married, and motor neurone disease is terrible, you can't swallow, you can't speak,' he said. His condition didn't deteriorate and then, nine months later, his diagnosis was changed to a rare, non-terminal condition called multifocal motor neuropathy. 'If assisted dying had been available to me, it's quite possible I would have opted for that. I mean, I had two of the country's senior specialists confirm I had motor neurone disease. I was in a state of great despair,' he said. 'People would have said, well, he died with dignity and so on. Except it would have been an error. It would have been a mistake. I would have died needlessly.' Along with misdiagnoses, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Terminal Illness reported that the accuracy of predictions of how long someone has left to live can range from 78% to 23%, and in cases involving less understood conditions, such as motor neurone disease, it can be impossible. 'There are lots and lots of cases where people have lived very fruitful, happy lives for much longer than they were expected to,' Sefton-Williams said. 'I was completely traumatised by the whole experience, the misdiagnosis and the implications of that. People have to accept that there will be cases where doctors get it wrong. And that needs to be discussed.' Shafaq Sikandar, 39, has stage four breast cancer and is a keen supporter of the bill. 'It is not because I'm thinking about assisted dying,' she said. 'I might not need it, but what I would like to know is that if and when that happens, that I have a choice. It's a choice not to suffer, to be able to die at home with my loved ones.' She is a professor of sensory neurophysiology, specialising in people's experiences of chronic pain, so knows more than most how pain works, and the scientific limitations of measuring it. 'We don't currently have the appropriate tools to really assess someone's comfort when they're past the point of being able to articulate how they're feeling,' she said. 'I am particularly worried about experiencing pain at any point in my life, including at the end of it. Pain is often described as an erosion of dignity and it really does strip away everything that makes life worth living.' She said she understands the complexity of the bill, and the need to get the safeguarding right. 'But it's still a case of listening to the voice of patients and understanding they want to have a choice in their treatment,' she said. 'When we think about death we also need to think about the meaning of life and I think a lot of that boils down to living as well as you can until that very last breath.'
