UK LAWMAKERS ARE set to vote in Westminster today on whether to pass a bill to legalise assisted dying, after what’s expected to be an emotive debate over several hours.
Parliament defeated a euthanasia bill in 2015, but public support for giving terminally ill people the choice to end their lives has since shifted in favour, with polls indicating a majority of Britons back changing the law.
Here’s what will happen in Westminster today, and where Ireland currently stands on the issue.
The proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would make assisted dying legal for terminally ill adults who are expected to die within six months and are deemed to have the mental capacity to make a choice about how they end their life.
The proposed legislation would have strict criteria for anyone who wants to end their life.
According to the bill, those wishing to avail of assisted dying must be over 18, live in England and Wales, and have been registered with a GP for at least one year.
The bill would only be available to those expected to die within six months, and applicants would be required to make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die.
Under the proposals, a High Court judge would have to rule each time a person makes a request to end their life. After the judge’s ruling, a patient would have to wait 14 days before acting.
A doctor would prepare the substance being used to end the patient’s life, but the person would take it themselves. The bill does not say which drug would be used.
In cases where the patient has received approval to receive the substance but is physically unable to self-administer, a doctor can assist that person to ingest or otherwise administer the substance.
It would be illegal to coerce someone into declaring they want to end their life, with a possible 14-year prison sentence.
The bill would see England and Wales emulate several other European nations who have legalised assisted dying, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Assisted suicide is currently banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Polls have shown strong public support for legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people. A recent YouGov study showed that 73% of Britons believe that – in principle – assisted dying should be legal in the UK, compared to only 13% who say it should not.
UK Labour MP Kim Leadbeater formally introduced her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to Parliament in October.
The legislation follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s vow earlier this year to allow parliament to revisit the issue.
Starmer, who voted in favour of allowing assisted suicide in 2015 but with “robust” safeguards, has not revealed if he supports or opposes the bill.
The Prime Minister has told cabinet members they “should not take part in the public debate” given the government is remaining neutral on the bill.
A number of senior ministers have shared their opinions on the bill, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood both voicing their opposition.
Mahmood argued in a recent letter to constituents that “the state should never offer death as a service”, while noting that her faith was informing her stance.
Meanwhile former prime minister David Cameron, who opposed the 2015 law change, revealed he had changed his mind on the issue.
“As campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life. It is about shortening death,” he wrote in The Times newspaper on Thursday.
However other ex-prime Ministers – including Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Gordon Brown – have all said they oppose the legislation.
DUP MPs in Westminster have said they are voting against it, alongside TUV leader Jim Allister, UUP leader Robin Swann, Alliance’s Sorcha Eastwood and independent MP Alex Easton.
Former SDLP and MP Clum Eastwood said that he will vote in favour of assisted dying legislation when it comes before the House of Commons.
Sinn Féin, who do not take their seats in the House of Commons, have not commented on the bill, but have previously said they would consider a change to the law.
Archbishop Eamon Martin, the leader of the Catholic Church here in Ireland, called on Northern Ireland MPs to reject the assisted dying bill that will be voted on in Westminster tomorrow.
Both voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under Irish law, and the act of “aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring” the suicide of another person remains a criminal offence, carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
It is not against the law to switch off life support or stop certain treatments (like chemotherapy) if a person or their next of kin requests it. However guidelines for doctors are clear: they “must not participate in the deliberate killing of a patient by active means”.
According to polling in 2021, two thirds of Irish people support the legalisation of assisted dying.
While there are currently no proposals to legalise assisted dying in Ireland, the Dáil voted to “take note” of a report completed by the Oireachtas committee on assisted dying last month.
The report of the committee, published in March, recommends the Government introduce legislation allowing for assisted dying in restricted circumstances.
These restricted circumstances would limit legislation to those with six months to live in most instances, or 12 months where they are suffering from a neurodegenerative condition.
The Oireachtas report also recommended that within the legislation, an offence be created where someone can be found to have coerced another individual into assisted dying, and that doctors and healthcare workers involved in assisted dying be trained to identify coercion.
The Dáil vote in October to “take note” of the Oireachtas report was not a vote on whether TDs support or reject the recommendations of the report, though the results were indicative of how parties stand on assisted dying in Ireland.
A total of 76 TDs voted in favour of noting the report, while 53 TDs voted against.
Only four Fianna Fáil TDs voted in favour of noting the report, while 25 Fianna Fáil members voted against.
In Fine Gael, 12 TDs voted in favour, 14 voted against.
Sinn Féin, the Green Party, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit-Solidarity all voted in favour of the motion.
Independent Ireland along with Aontú and the Rural Independent Group voted against.
With additional reporting from AFP.
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