‘End suffering’ or ‘protect the vulnerable’: UK grapples with assisted dying debate

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — A bill on assisted dying has sparked controversy in Britain, drawing both strong support and significant criticism. While some campaigning groups champion the “historic bill” for offering terminally ill people “choice and dignity,” others warn against the risks it poses.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, also known as the Assisted Dying Bill, was introduced in Parliament in November. It seeks to allow terminally ill individuals who meet specific eligibility criteria to request and lawfully receive assistance to end their lives.

Politicians are deeply divided. Supporters emphasize the bill’s potential to provide suffering individuals with the “choice and dignity they desire and deserve,” while critics argue that efforts should focus on improving “care” rather than promoting “killing.”

Presented as a private member’s bill by Kim Leadbeater, Labour lawmaker for Spen Valley, on Nov. 11, the proposed legislation is currently at the committee stage, having passed its first and second readings in Parliament.

This marks the latest attempt to legalize assisted dying, following previous efforts such as Lord Falconer’s private member’s bill in July 2021, which was later withdrawn, and Baroness Meacher’s Bill on Assisted Dying, which fell with the prorogation of Parliament in April 2022.

Dignity in Dying is one of the many groups campaigning for a change in the law to allow assisted dying as a choice for the terminally ill. Under the Suicide Act of 1961, both euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in the UK.

In a statement to Anadolu, Dignity in Dying said Leadbeater's bill allows people "to live life in the knowledge that none of us will be forced to suffer as we die."

In England and Wales, assisting a suicide carries a maximum sentence of 14 years under the Suicide Act (1961). In Northern Ireland, similar legal provisions apply. In Scotland, while there is no specific offense, assisting someone to die could result in prosecution for “culpable homicide.”

"It prevents terminally ill people from feeling forced to take matters into their own hands at home or abroad, enables them to make informed decisions with a full range of safe, fair options available to them, and allows health professionals to care for their patients holistically," Dignity in Dying said of the new bill.

However, there is also a significant campaign against the Assisted Dying Bill. Groups like Care Not Killing remain firmly opposed to legalizing assisted suicide

- ‘Changing the law would put pressure on people to end their lives prematurely’

In an interview with Anadolu, Alistair Thompson, spokesperson for Care Not Killing, expressed concerns about the bill’s implications, warning that it could pressure vulnerable individuals to end their lives prematurely.

He explained that Leadbeater’s bill resembles the Oregon or Washington State model, where patients are provided with lethal medication to administer themselves, rather than the Canadian or Belgian approach, where a medical professional administers the drug.

Thompson said that Care Not Killing came together 20 years ago to oppose legalizing assisted suicide by Lord Joffe in 2003 and have been campaigning since then on the issue.

"We are hugely concerned that changing law would put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives prematurely, and indeed, we see that in places like Oregon and Washington, where a majority of the people ending their lives routinely cite fear of being a burden on their families, carers or finances as a reason for their decision," he noted.

While the demand for assisted suicide is often placed on the fear of dying in pain. However, Thompson also of the potential for “scope creep,” where initial safeguards could weaken over time. He pointed to Canada, where legislation initially restricted euthanasia to terminally ill adults but was later expanded.

"So in Canada, for example, a law that came in in 2016 for mentally competent terminally on adults was extended by the courts in 2019 to allow people with disabilities and others," he explained.

He emphasized the need to address palliative care gaps in the UK, noting that one in four people who need palliative care do not currently receive it.

"On top of that, there's a funding crisis in our hospice movement. So we have hospices where actually deals outside of the state-funded healthcare system that deals with a lot of people at the end of life and provides palliative and respite care.

"They are facing a huge financial crisis at the moment with I think it's one in five of them are actually coming back on services or laying off staff. So that needs to be fixed before we go down a very dangerous route of legalizing assisted suicide," he added.

Thompson concluded by stressing that doctors would prefer to have adequate resources to ensure patients experience “good deaths” rather than being given the ability to end their lives.