Assisted dying has been thrown into doubt after Kim Leadbetter, its Labour MP sponsor, agreed to postpone implementing the law until 2029, after the next election. The Telegraph has more.
Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the Bill, has proposed delaying the introduction of assisted dying in England and Wales for two years until 2029.
The revised timeline raises the prospect that a new government could abandon plans to establish an assisted dying regime following warnings that the law would overburden the NHS and judiciary.
Ms Leadbeater is thought to have climbed down after civil servants responsible for drafting amendments told her the Bill was unworkable.
This work with the Government has already seen the Spen Valley MP significantly water down her proposals in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Moves such as removing the requirement for every case to be signed off by a High Court judge have triggered anger among MPs, making the law less likely to be voted through.
The Assisted Dying Bill Committee finished scrutinising the draft legislation in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Ms Leadbeater’s proposal to delay the roll out in England was accepted, despite warnings that the next government could “quickly abandon” reforms.
Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon cautioned the postponement could be fatal, saying: “We also know that no Parliament can bind the next – and that the legislation that’s been passed but not enacted and put in place could be quickly abandoned.”
In Wales, the future of assisted dying looks even more uncertain. In a surprising move, MPs on the Bill committee voted 12 to 11 in favour of Sarah Olney MP’s amendment to require Senedd approval before any changes take effect in Wales.
Last October, Senedd members rejected a motion calling for a law change. Ms Olney said: “We should respect that choice and not impose it on them, in whole or in part, without their consent.”
On Tuesday, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary – who opposes assisted dying and has warned of its impact on the NHS – said Ms Leadbeater had backed down after Ministers told her the law could not be delivered in two years.
Speaking at a Guardian event, he said he wanted to pay tribute to the MP for her leadership on the issue.
“It would have been really easy for her to say ‘hang on a minute, four years, that’s twice as long as two years, and will this ever happen’,” he said. “Instead what she’s done is work constructively with ministers, listened to the arguments about how long it would take to implement, and she’s shown willingness to compromise.”
However, a spokesman for Ms Leadbeater insisted that assisted dying could still happen and said 2029 was a “backstop”.
He claimed the Bill contained “even stronger safeguards” than when it was first tabled but admitted they would “inevitably take longer to implement”.
He added: “But the four-year limit is not a target, it’s a backstop. Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year.”
The controversial Bill passed by 55 votes in November, splitting Parliament, with 330 MPs backing it and 275 opposed.
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But I read today that the Isle of Man have apparently passed a law to this effect.
Curious. I hadn’t realised they were legally separate.
They are, which is why you can’t import raw meat to the island as an individual. Among other things.
Their parliament, the Tynwald, is even older than ours and has run continuously since its founding.
If the Isle of Man can be legally separate, then why can’t Cash Cow England be legally separate from the UK, the EU, the Commonwealth, the UN, and the WHO World Death Organization?
Just think of the astronomical savings to English Taxpayers!
Do they still have the Birch there?
Long and protracted demise in prospect for the Assisted Killing Bill – Canadian equivalent now accounts for 3% of annual mortality.
This time five years ago, weren’t we all meant to be hiding under the duvet to Save Lives and Protect the NHS?
And avoid Killing Granny.
Someone should have mentioned that to Hancock. I am surprised they didn;t bring him in to run the assisted killing bill, he has form.
Good article on Chinese students being targeted by the CCP and snitched on be fellow students:‘I no longer trust anyone’: The Chinese student seized for speaking out in Britain
I’m getting better.
I don’t want to go on the cart.
I think I’ll go for a walk.
—
What? Not funny? Then stop trying to kill Granny.
Thanks to Will Jones & the DS for that fantastic news from the paywalled Telegraph.
It’s strange to look at that photo of Leadbeater, her face seemingly so earnest, liberal and well-intentioned, yet hidden behind it is an acolyte of The Grim Reaper.
I hope and pray that this bill never makes it to law.
The question we all need to ask is this: can we trust that the state is not going to try to kill us when we are old?
If – after Covid – you still think we can, then I have a bridge to sell you.
Yes, or to kill us at any age, as the enthusiastic Medical Murder Laws in Canada have shown.
How much did that lot cost us?, another waste of time and money by frankly thick MP’s who have no more idea of practicality, reality or workability of anything, they think by just saying so will make it so.
The less that Parliament actually does the better off we would all be
What’s the relevance of the picture of Nicko McBrain?
Is Kim Leadbeater a man? With Big Mike Obama, Brigitte Macron and numerous wives of the famous eg Kissinger’s wife, Chuck Schumer’s, all being born male this is not as impossible as it seems. The elite like their gender swaps for control and blackmail. Is this how the “sister” of Jo Cox got propelled into parliament to do the bidding of Euthanasia MegaCorp Inc ?
I suspect this just means that it won’t be the individual making the decision whether their life is to be terminated.
Based on the morphine and midazolam cocktail being freely dispensed during the Scamdemic, I think the NHS has already taken on the role of deciding if you’re to live or die.
I applaud Danny Kruger for his tremendous efforts in exposing the issues in this bill.
So the National Homicide Service isn’t going to get it’s James Bond 007 Licence to Kill after all? Presumably it will just carry on without a licence then
This Bill is dead as a dodo. Given how the safeguards have been watered down, it is unlikely to pass third reading.
And even if it does, it then goes on to the Lords, where opposition is likely to be even stronger than in the Commons.
It will not become law (thank goodness).