Assisted dying bill clears first parliamentary hurdle
A bill allowing assisted dying has successfully passed its initial stage in Parliament, following a favorable vote from Members of Parliament today.
The House of Commons has successfully passed the second reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, with a vote tally of 330 in favor and 275 against.
Most MPs from the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties supported the proposal, while most Conservative MPs, along with a significant number from the ruling party, opposed it.
The bill will now undergo a thorough examination by a committee of Members of Parliament, who may make changes to it. After that, it will be reviewed again by the entire House of Commons during the report stage and the final reading, where a vote on the entire legislation will take place once more.
At this stage, it's unclear whether members of Parliament will support the bill again, considering how close today's vote was and the heated debates surrounding the legislation.
If they decide to take that step, the House of Lords would almost certainly give their approval, which would result in it becoming law.
According to the law, a person who is terminally ill and deemed to have six months or less to live would have the option to request help in ending their life, provided they are mentally capable of making that choice.
Before proceeding, two doctors would need to conduct separate evaluations, and a High Court judge must verify that the legal criteria have been satisfied.
A survey conducted by Community Care shows that social workers generally support the bill.
Nevertheless, critics, including health and social care secretary Wes Streeting, have expressed serious worries that individuals might feel pressured into opting for assisted dying or might select this choice due to the insufficient quality of palliative care services available.
To tackle these issues, the Association of Palliative Care Social Workers (APCSW), which takes a neutral stance on the legislation, has suggested creating a social work position dedicated to providing support for individuals who may be facing the option of assisted dying.
The role of the palliative care professional that has been endorsed by the APCSW would include the following responsibilities:
The group of MPs assigned to review the bill will examine various pieces of evidence, including input from organizations like the APCSW. This may result in a modification to the legislation that would create a new position.
After today's vote, the Nuffield Trust, a research organization, mentioned that there are still important unanswered questions regarding how the law will be funded, especially considering the financial difficulties that palliative and social care are currently facing.
CEO Thea Stein mentioned, “Right now, it's uncertain whether assisted dying would be completely funded by the public. If it is, it would be categorized alongside services such as social care and hospice care, which are not fully funded.”
Both of these services are facing financial difficulties, and it’s important for MPs to grasp how the limited resources currently available will work alongside this new service. They need to consider the effects this will have on individuals who are paying for social care and how to finance assisted dying from a health budget that is already stretched thin.
"If assisted dying isn’t covered by public funding, it will be challenging for the legislation to fulfill its goal of providing better options for all patients. These are important issues to consider as we move forward."
