Pressure mounts for fresh vote on assisted suicide

Assisted suicide could be legalised in England and Wales within months, after reports that Downing Street would not obstruct a Private Member’s bill to introduce legislation. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously supported a law change and promised a free vote.

A so-called ‘citizen’s jury’ recently backed the legalising of assisted dying for the terminally ill.

But social policy charity CARE has warned that fast-tracking ‘assisted dying’ legislation law through Parliament by Christmas would be ‘cynical and perilous’. The charity’s CEO Ross Hendry warned: ‘The idea of hastily drafting and rushing through any law is objectionable, but on an issue of such gravity, it would be especially cynical and perilous … This is not a minor or uncontroversial change, as campaigners claim.’

Just over two-thirds of a 28-person citizen’s jury – convened to test public opinion on the issue – backed assisted dying for the terminally ill. The ‘jurors’ were all based in England and randomly selected from 7,000 addresses.

They participated in an eight-week period of considering expert evidence. Seven jurors disagreed with legalising assisted dying and one person said they were undecided.

In June, a poll commissioned by Living and Dying Well revealed that the British public believe there are too many complicating factors for assisted dying to be safely implemented.

Meanwhile, The Times reported that Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey ‘has said he is a “sceptic”about plans to legalise assisted dying. Having cared for his mother when he was a teenager and she had bone cancer, Davey said he would welcome a debate but told Sky News: “I think a situation where healthy people might think they are a burden and then proceed with this, is a huge worry”.’

The Times report added: ‘Davey said the issue should not be rushed. “I’m not convinced that campaigning has answered my question about the pressure it puts on the psychology of someone who is elderly who’s worried that they are a burden,” he said.’