Labour MP plans to reintroduce unpopular 'assisted dying' bill in UK

A Labour MP has caused uproar within her own party after announcing plans to reintroduce the failed assisted suicide bill in the United Kingdom (UK).

Key Takeaways:

• In April, the controversial “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)” bill failed to pass Parliament.

• Multiple polls found that the majority of voters in the UK do not want the bill reintroduced or see it as a priority.

• Labour MP Lauren Edwards announced she will reintroduce the bill anyway, even as some in her own party protest.

The Backstory:

Despite a concerted effort to force the bill through, Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide bill failed to pass, as in Parliament all legislation must pass by May, or it will automatically fail. That is exactly what happened in April, as it did not make it through the House of Lords after Labour chief whip in the House of Lords, Roy Kennedy, refused to give it additional time.

Voters expressed widespread concern about the bill, particularly with regard to coercion and profit, even as advocates pushed for assisted suicide to be legalized in the UK.

Disability advocates strongly spoke against the bill, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson (a former Paralympian) and actress Sophie Turner, known for her roles in the "X-Men" and "Game of Thrones" series.

Grey-Thompson noted that, as the assisted suicide bill was being considered, the National Health Service (NHS) was also looking to cut between £5bn and £6bn from disability benefits, which would then encourage disabled Britons to die.

"When you understand that we live in a relatively able society, there will be people who sit on the panel who will decide that a disabled person has nothing to offer society and will allow them to end their lives," she said.

Turner spoke of having survived an eating disorder, and signed an opposition letter which said the bill "could make individuals with eating disorders eligible for assisted death at times when they are unable to access or accept treatment. Many young people who could recover with effective care might instead receive lethal medication during a period of despair.”

The Details:

Though polling has indicated the bill is likely to struggle again, Edwards still announced she will reintroduce the bill, and said peers need to "finish the job." Edwards, an MP in the House of Commons, said it will be up to the House of Lords to ensure it passes.

"Laws passed in the House of Commons are then refined by the House of Lords but they don't have the opportunity to block them," she said. "It's perfectly reasonable for us to ask the House of Lords to finish the job."

She also argued the bill only struggled to pass due to a small number of MPs in the House of Lords:

This long overdue change to the law was supported by MPs during the last session of Parliament and was prevented from passing only by the decision of a minority in the House of Lords to talk it out and stop it coming to a vote.

I believe it is a fundamental democratic principle that the elected chamber, the House of Commons, should decide what does and does not become law in this country.

We owe it to all those terminally ill people and their families who are depending on this Bill to ensure that Parliament can come to a final decision on the question of choice at the end of life.

And I believe it undermines public trust in our democracy more widely if we cannot deliver on a measure that is supported by a very large majority of voters in all parts of the country.

However, the bill is expected to face even more opposition, as members of the Labour party are in disagreement over passing it, with numerous party members speaking against its reintroduction.

“I’m deeply concerned that supporters are bringing the assisted dying bill back," Labour MP Ashley Dalton said. "Voters put us in power to reduce the cost of living and fix the NHS. We have debated this deeply divisive and flawed assisted dying bill for over a year and supporters have refused to listen or to make the necessary changes.”

After the bill failed the first time, polling found that more MPs would oppose it if reintroduced, with only 41% of MPs responding they would vote “Aye” again, and 45% saying they would continue to vote no. And though Edwards slammed the House of Lords for blocking it, approximately 61% of poll respondents said they supported the constitutional authority of the House of Lords to amend, block or reject legislation.

Additionally, voters overwhelmingly responded that legalizing assisted suicide is not a priority, indicating that Britons don't want this legislation either. In another poll, just 1 in 3 said they want the bill reintroduced.

The Bottom Line:

Care Not Killing released a statement slamming Edwards' reintroduction of the bill. Dr. Gordon Macdonald stated:

“We are obviously disappointed by this illogical and ideological decision to bring back the a deeply flawed bill. A bill that was so riddled with errors not a single doctors’ group or disabled group supported it.

A bill that even before it went to Committee in the Commons saw an important safeguard removed, namely the High Court overseeing each application. A bill that was so poorly drafted even sponsor in the House of Lords had to table 74 amendments.

Trying to introduce an assisted dying law is a complex and technical matter that must not be rushed, because if it is, vulnerable people will pay the price with their lives."

"Indeed when the main arguments are put to members of the public, support for changing the law drops to just 13 per cent..." Macdonald added. "[P]olling consistently shows the public would rather Members of Parliament to concentrate on fixing the palliative, addressing the housing crisis, easing the cost of living crisis, tackling immigration and many other issues over introducing a law to allow people to kill themselves.”