Are you in favour of Assisted Dying?

[The Bald Eagle]

In modern world, the discussion about right to death has also emerged. And the biggest example of it is Assisted dying. Assisted dying encompasses both physician-assisted dying (PAD) and voluntary active euthanasia. PAD involves a physician providing a patient with the means to end their own life, while euthanasia entails a physician actively administering life-ending drugs at the patient's request

Eligibility typically requires that the patient is terminally ill, mentally competent, and has made multiple requests for assistance, ensuring the decision is voluntary and informed

Legal frameworks vary significantly across jurisdictions, reflecting ongoing ethical debates surrounding autonomy, suffering, and the doctor-patient relationship

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Poll added Guys

 

[The Bald Eagle]

UK MPs face crucial vote on divisive assisted dying bill​

Lawmakers in Britain are debating divisive legislation on assisted dying for terminally ill patients ahead of what is expected to be a knife-edge vote of conscience.

Parliament started a second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill on Friday, assessing whether mentally competent adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of less than six months should be allowed to end their lives with medical help.

Those in favour of the bill, which would apply in England and Wales, argue that it is about shortening the death of those who are terminally ill and giving them more control. Opponents believe vulnerable, ill people will feel pressured to end their lives to avoid being a burden to their families.

Opening the debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who proposed the measure, said changing the law would give terminally ill people “choice, autonomy and dignity at the end of their lives”.

“Let’s be clear, we’re not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice about how to die,” Leadbeater said, as supporters of both sides gathered outside parliament.

The House of Commons – parliament’s lower chamber – was “packed”, he said, with 160 to 170 MPs requesting time to speak in the debate, each limited to about eight minutes each, “showing you the level of concern, the level of attention this issue is getting”.

Two polls last week indicated that a majority of people back the proposed legislation, but many members of parliament indicated that they had yet to make up their minds ahead of the free vote, which will see them casting votes according to their conscience rather than along party lines.

Protestors hold placards as they gather outside the Parliament as British lawmakers debate the assisted dying law

Leadbeater has said that the bill would include “the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world” – any patient’s wish to die would have to be signed off by a judge and two doctors.

But support in parliament appears less secure, with some MPs saying the current proposal lacks detail and needs to be underpinned by more research to study the legal and financial implications of a law change.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle rejected a bid on Friday by a group of MPs to halt further debate on the bill. They had previously lodged a proposed amendment, which could stop the bill from progressing to a vote.

If MPs vote in favour of the bill, it will proceed to the next stage of the parliamentary process, and face further votes in 2025.

Source: Al Jazeera

 

[sweep_shot]

Assisted suicide is murder. I do not support it.

 

[Hitman]

I support it, provided -

1. The patient has 0% chances of recovery, and

2. The patient is due to suffer miserably that can't be avoided.

 

[RexRex]

I don't think anybody should force someone to exist lol.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Assisted suicide is murder. I do not support it.

Common among atheists

 

[FearlessRoar]

Starmer has acted 'admirably' says Esther Rantzen

One of the most vocal campaigners in favour of the assisted dying movement is Dame Esther Rantzen, the television presenter.

Speaking to Sky News, she says she has not spoken to the prime minister during the debate.

She says she has been trying to find a phone number to Downing Street to thank Sir Keir Starmer.

"I think he's behaved admirably because I know that he supports a change in the law because I know as [director of public prosecutions] he found it very messy, very crude, and sometimes very cruel," she says.

"So I know he didn't feel it was working at all, and thought it should be changed.

"But he also recognised that it is a matter of conscience - there were some people who, for faith reasons or other reasons, will oppose it.

"And so he was determined that it shouldn't be a political issue, it should be a free vote, so he didn't talk about the way he felt.

"And I think that was quite right, because he didn't want to influence anyone else."

Sky News

 

[Cricket Warrior]

The historic vote, by 330 in favour to 275 against, comes after five hours of passionate debate during which MPs shared personal stories, while those against the bill called for better end-of-life care.


BBC

 

[BouncerGuy]

'Many will be saved from pain' - Terminally ill people react to assisted dying bill

Terminally ill people are a step closer to being able to choose when they die after MPs voted to support a proposed change to the law.

The right to an assisted death will be granted to people with life expectancies of six months or less provided their request is approved by two doctors and a judge.

It is is one of the most significant and sensitive topics to have been voted on by MPs in recent decades - though it still needs to clear further rounds of voting before it can be implemented.

Two weeks ago BBC News interviewed two terminally ill people about their feelings on the assisted dying bill and we spoke to them again following the vote on Friday afternoon.

"I'm over the moon, I'm so happy," says Elise Burns, whose cancer means she lives in constant pain.

"The bill is going to save so many unnecessarily painful and horrible deaths - as well as the families and loved ones who would have had to see them go through it."

She was watching the debate on assisted dying from the public gallery in the House of Commons having joined the campaign for assisted dying a few months ago.

Elise, 50, is terminally ill after breast cancer spread to other parts of her body, including her bones - her femur had to be replaced by a metal rod after it was rotted by cancerous cells.

"I'm completely and utterly shell-shocked. I was obviously hoping for the best but preparing for the worst," adds Elise, who thought MPs might decide against the bill having witnessed the debate in person.

Nik Ward, who has motor neurone disease and opposes changing the law on assisted dying, told us: "Obviously I'm a bit disappointed."

He watched the debate and vote at home.

"But, at the same time, the point was made several times [during the debate] that since the last vote nine years ago there has been very little improvement in palliative care."

Also known as end of life care, this service is for those people in the final months and years of their lives.

It can be received at home or in a care home, hospice or hospital - depending on the needs and preferences of the patient.

Opponents of the assisted dying bill think this service needs to be better funded if terminally ill people are to make a genuine choice between dying naturally or choosing to die earlier.

"There has not been much discussion and maybe, over the coming years before the [assisted dying] bill is implemented, there will be time for a comprehensive review," adds Nik.

The 53-year-old has been told for the past five years that he is terminally ill and knows he could die tomorrow by choking on food or on his own saliva.

Another concern he has about the bill being passed is that terminally ill people, vulnerable as they face the emotions of dying soon, will choose to end their lives unnecessarily early for what they consider to be noble reasons.

"It's the good people, the people who are trying to be virtuous, who are dignified and trying to do the right thing - they are the ones I'm worried about and think [this law] could be problematic for," he tells us.

"It will be the grandmother in the care home that doesn't want to spend all the money she's got in her savings account because she wants her grandchildren to get it," he says. "It will be people like her who seek to end their lives."

He adds: "This is despite the fact her grandchildren will be likely to value the last of the time they have got with her more than they are an additional £10,000 or £20,000.

"People will make a [life or death] decision based on internal judgements that aren't necessarily accurate because people don't have honest conversations about death."

He says better conversations would help people who are terminally ill make the most of the time they have left with their loved ones, and so choose not to end their lives early.

"Ironically, I think what people say and do at the end of their lives is utterly defining of their life," says Nik.

For Elise, she knows the end of her life will be one filled with increasing pain and suffering as her body becomes more tolerant of the morphine she uses - making it less effective as a painkiller.

She is terrified of a painful death and is glad the bill will eventually grant people like her a choice.

"It gives them the right to a good death, that's really important," she says.

She explains it will also spare people the stress of taking terminally ill loved ones abroad to die - and the fear of prosecution upon their return.

"It's going to save a lot of pain and trauma."

One of the things that struck her and Nik during the debate was the way MPs behaved.

"I thought by and large it was conducted very respectfully on both sides," she says and she hopes that will encourage people at home to talk about the issue in a similar manner.

Nik goes further and says it was "absolutely edifying".

He adds: "It was very grown up and I wish there would be more of it. It's the way a democracy should work."

For Elise and her fellow campaigners, the democratic system has worked in their favour on this occasion.

"I'm just so delighted for everyone," she says. "[Assisted dying] is something I've always felt strongly about, though it didn't occur to me that one day I might need it."

For her the bill has likely come too late as she will probably be dead by the time it takes effect.

She is arranging to use the assisted dying service offered by Dignitas in Switzerland before the pain caused by her cancer becomes too much to bear.

Until then she will be making the most of her time with her family and celebrating with fellow campaigners after achieving this latest step in changing the law.

"I'm just incredibly grateful that me and tens of thousands of other people will be given the choice of a good death," she tells us. "Or to shorten a bad one."

BBC

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Bishop of Norwich 'saddened' over assisted dying bill vote

The Bishop of Norwich has described the historic vote by MPs to back the bill which would change the law on assisted dying as "a bleak day".

The Rt Rev Graham Usher, who had urged Norfolk's MPs to vote against Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, said he was "saddened" it passed its second hearing.

Bishop Graham praised MPs who "spoke with sincerity, compassion and with a deep sense of care".

But he added: "I am very saddened the bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons; 330 for, 270 against.

"This is a bleak day for all whom I have spoken with who feared such a result, including the vulnerable, those at risk of coercion, disability groups and those working in palliative care.

"The experience from other countries who have introduced assisted suicide is not good, with a slow creep to a wider circle following legal challenges.

"Assisted suicide will further stretch the NHS and our legal system, and it will be interesting to read the government’s impact assessment when it is published."

The bill will next go to committee stage, where MPs can table amendments. It will then face further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any law change would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.

Some MPs indicated their support might not continue at a further vote, if they are not convinced of safeguards.

And Bishop Graham, who has a seat in the House of Lords, said: "When the Bill eventually reaches the House of Lords, I will want to see how it has been amended from what MPs had before them today.

"I believe that a wiser path would be to provide more palliative and hospice care so that the terminally ill and their families are supported and cared for with the utmost dignity. We must not give up on that aspiration."

How Norfolk and Waveney MPs voted

The region's MPs who voted for the bill were:

North Norfolk MP Steffan Aquarone

Steffan Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk), George Freeman (Conservative - Mid Norfolk), Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk), Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South), Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth) Alice Macdonald (Labour - Norwich North), Adrian Ramsay (Green - Waveney Valley) and James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk).

Those who voted against it were:

Lowestoft MP Jess Asato

Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft), Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk) and Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham).

Source: Evening News 24

 

[topspin]

At least it’s not as bad as sati.

 

[FearlessRoar]

MPs who backed assisted dying bill say concerns remain​

MPs who voted in favour of the assisted dying bill have raised concerns about parts of it and want to see changes before giving it final approval.

Some are worried about the bill's provisions to allow doctors to raise assisted dying as an option without the terminally ill patient having asked for it first.

The proposed law would give adults with less than six months to live the right to end their life with the help of a doctor. It passed its first stage in the House of Commons on Friday with a majority of 55.

Those with concerns want to see them addressed as the bill goes through further scrutiny and rounds of voting over the coming months.

The bill allows medical practitioners "exercising their professional judgement to decide if, and when, it is appropriate to discuss the matter with a person".

The British Medical Association (BMA) said doctors should not be "prohibited in law from raising this subject".

But the BBC spoke to some MPs who voted in favour of the bill on Friday and are concerned about the planned provisions.

Mike Tapp, the Labour MP for Dover and Deal, said it must "be specifically stated in the bill that medical practitioners are not to raise assisted dying with any patient".

"It should only be discussed if it is raised by the patient," he told BBC News. "This helps mitigate the risk of accidental coercion, or the perception of a hint, at a time of immense emotional distress and vulnerability."

Roz Savage, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Cotswolds, said assisted dying should be "patient-led, not doctor-led".

"To my mind, it would be very wrong for a doctor, or indeed anybody, to suggest to a person that they should seek assisted dying," she said.

"I support the bill because it gives people choice, and this most important choice of their lives should not be in response to undue influence."

Under the bill, the right to an assisted death will be granted to adults with less than six months to live, provided their request is approved by two doctors and a High Court judge.

MPs supported the proposed law change on Friday in the first Commons vote on the issue in nearly a decade, following an emotional debate in the chamber.

There will be more months of debate, during which MPs and peers could choose to amend parts of the bill. It will require the approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

Marie Tidball, the Labour MP for Penistone and Stockbridge who has been disabled since birth, said the law must be amended to ensure doctors present all options to patients.

She told the Commons on Friday: "The choice of assisted dying as one option for adults when facing six months' terminal illness must be set alongside the choice of receiving the best possible palliative and end of life care, or it is no choice at all."

Chris Webb, the Labour MP for Blackpool South, was also among the MPs who expressed their concerns.

Campaigners behind the bill point to lobbying from the British Medical Association (BMA) against what they called a "gag" clause on what doctors could discuss with patients.

A spokesperson for the BMA told BBC News: "We do not believe that doctors should be prohibited in law from raising this subject during a consultation if they believed it was appropriate to do so.

"Doctors should be trusted to use their professional judgement to decide when and if a discussion about assisted dying would be appropriate, taking their cue from the patient as they do on all other issues."

A source close to Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP bringing the bill, said she would be open to looking at this issue when the details are discussed in a committee of MPs next year.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger, a leading opponent of the legislation, said on Friday that it could be defeated at a later stage if MPs' concerns were not properly addressed.

He said many of his colleagues believed the bill was "very dangerous" and he hoped that if safeguards in the legislation were not strengthened they would choose to vote against it in the future.

MPs were given a free vote, meaning they could make a decision based on their own conscience rather than having to follow a party line.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak voted in favour, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch voted against.

Assisted dying: MPs who backed bill say concerns remain

The bill faces further scrutiny, during which MPs and peers could choose to amend parts of it.

www.bbc.com