UK proposed assisted dying law has strong safeguards, lawmaker says

By Sarah Young

A proposed law allowing terminally ill adults in England and Wales to end their lives was published on Tuesday, setting out safeguards such as ensuring the approval of doctors and judges to try to ease concerns in Britain over its possible misuse.

The proposed law has polarised opinion and has split the governing Labour Party. Lawmakers will vote on the proposed law on Nov. 29, almost 10 years since parliament rejected an earlier bid to legalise assisted dying.

The Labour lawmaker who has proposed the new law, Kim Leadbeater, described it as "very robust", saying the legislation offers layers of safeguards to protect vulnerable people, who some critics fear might feel pressured to end their lives if assisted dying becomes legal.

Assisted dying would only be an option for mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or less left to live, as expected, under the proposed new law.

The other safeguards include two doctors confirming seven days apart that the person is eligible and has made their decision free from pressure, while a judge would then speak to one of those doctors before a 14-day period of reflection.

"This is just for terminally ill adults. It's not for anybody else. It's for people who are dying, and it is about shortening death rather than ending life," Leadbeater told BBC radio.

The bill would make it illegal to pressure or coerce someone into ending their life by assisted dying. The offence would be punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Under current laws assisting suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in jail but Leadbeater argues that current rules do not reflect a shift in public opinion over the issue during the last 10 years.

Supporters of assisted dying say Britain is a laggard after Australia, Canada, New Zealand and some U.S. states legalised it under certain circumstances in recent years. It has been legal in Switzerland since 1942 and in the Netherlands since 2002.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said politicians will be able to vote with their consciences on the matter, rather than along party lines. He has supported changing the law in the past while health minister Wes Streeting has said he will oppose it.

Should the proposal, known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Members Bill, pass a first vote, it would kick off the formal process for a law change, subjecting it to further scrutiny and requiring approval by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the upper house of parliament.

In 2015, British lawmakers voted 330 to 118 against the second reading of proposed legislation to legalise assisted dying.