The assisted suicide bill has been delayed to allow a time-limited select committee to hear expert evidence on safeguards and existing gaps in the bill.
The bill was receiving its second reading in the House of Lords with a vote expected on 19 September. However, a written request by 20+ cross-party peers for a select committee to hear oral evidence from professionals has been accepted. The letter said this was a “necessity” to ensure the bill contains the promised “robust safeguards”. Lord Falconer, the bill’s sponsor in the Lords, agreed to a fast-tracked select committee which is to report back by 7 November.
The select committee will consider issues including funding assisted dying; the role of coroners and medical professionals; and opting out for hospices and care homes.
If the bill becomes law, an eligible individual with less than six months to live and who has mental capacity, could be allowed to choose assisted dying.
On the first of two days of debate, former prime minister Theresa May described assisted dying as “a licence to kill” and criticised the lack of protections in the bill. For example, she said without a coroner’s report “there’s a danger it could be used as a cover-up for mistakes in hospital”.
Baroness Prentis, recently diagnosed with aggressive cancer and who worries about feeling a burden to her family, pleaded: “I ask you to think hard about the vulnerable and how easy it is for them to think their lives are not worth living.”
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