Relief and fear ahead of assisted dying bill vote

Assisted dying campaigners, including Dame Esther Rantzen, have welcomed plans for the first Parliamentary vote on the issue in nine years.

The presenter, who is terminally ill with lung cancer, said she was surprised she may live to see the Commons debate on the issue likely to take place later this year.

But activists on the other side of the argument, including those who campaign for disability rights, have expressed serious concerns about the impact on vulnerable people and any possible future expansions of a would-be law.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater is putting the bill forward later this month and said "now is the time" to hold a fresh debate, after MPs rejected a similar move in 2015.

The bill would cover England and Wales, where - like Northern Ireland - assisting someone with ending their life is against the law.

In Scotland - where it is not a specific criminal offence but can leave a person open to a murder charge - a bill is currently being considered that, if passed, would give terminally ill adults the right to request help to end their life.

Dame Esther, who has been a vocal advocate for legalising assisted dying, said the law as it stands puts her family "at risk of being accused of killing me" if they helped her end her life in Switzerland, where she has joined the assisted dying clinic Dignitas.

Dame Esther Rantzen wants a change in the law

'Dignity of choice'

"All I’m asking for is that we be given the dignity of choice," the Childline founder told Radio 4's Today programme on Friday morning.

"If I decide that my own life is not worth living, please may I ask for help to die", Dame Esther continued.

"It’s a choice."

Her daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, told BBC Breakfast the issue was "hugely personal" and the news of an upcoming vote filled her “with an enormous sense of relief”.

But she added that “however fast these things go I'm not sure it will help us as a family".

Describing current rules as a “messy cruel law”, Ms Wilcox said she had been traumatised by her father’s death and her mother did not want them to go through that again.

"It's about those last few days, giving somebody dignity, giving somebody the choice,” she said.

But Dr Lucy Thomas, a palliative care and public health doctor, said assisted dying was a last resort which courts - rather than doctors - were better placed to judge.

She added that choosing to end your life was not a "straightforward consumer decision".

'Very real fears'

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, the former Paralympian and a disability campaigner, told BBC Breakfast that "there's a lot of worry out there about how this law can expand if it comes in".

The House of Lords crossbencher conceded that the debate cannot be "shut down" - but expressed concern around how decisions to end lives will be made, particularly on vulnerable people and victims of coercive control.

"Will there be time given and money spent on actually understanding whether it is someone's free and settled wish?" Baroness Grey-Thompson asked.

Liz Carr, an actor and disability rights activist who made the BBC documentary Better Off Dead, also opposes legalising assisted dying.

“Some of us have very real fears based on our lived experience and based on what has happened in other countries where it's legal," she posted on X late on Thursday night.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of campaign group Care Not Killing, argued that the bill's introduction was "clearly disappointing news".

He said: "I would strongly urge the government to focus on fixing our broken palliative care system that sees up to one in four Brits who would benefit from this type of care being unable to access it, rather than discussing again this dangerous and ideological policy."

But Leadbeater insists her bill "will not undermine calls for improvements to palliative care".

'Compassionate debate' and a free vote

The Spen Valley MP said she hoped for "honest, compassionate and respectful debate" on her proposal, which would establish the right for terminally-ill eligible adults to have the choice at the end of life to shorten the time before their deaths.

She said it would also ensure stronger protections for patients and their loved ones in the aftermath.

Leadbeater insists the plan will not conflict with the rights of people with disabilities to be treated equally and "have the respect and support they are absolutely right to campaign for in order to live fulfilling lives".

"I support these causes just as passionately", she said.

MPs and peers would have to approve the proposal for it to become law.

Details of the bill have not been finalised, but it is likely to be similar to a proposal tabled in the House of Lords, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to receive medical help to end their own lives.

The government will remain neutral on Leadbeater's bill, with MPs expected to have a free vote - meaning they can decide according to their conscience, without party pressure. Cabinet's collective responsibility is also expected to be waived.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously promised to give Labour MPs a chance to vote with their conscience - and has supported a change in the law himself.

Asked about the issue during a press conference on Friday morning, he said: “I made a promise to Esther Rantzen before the election that we would provide time for a debate and vote, but that it will be a free vote, and obviously that opportunity has now arisen.”

The PM did not indicate how he would vote.

The health secretary is understood to be "conflicted" over the debate. Wes Streeting backed assisted dying the last time there was a vote and thinks it is right to have a debate now, but is said to have concerns.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told BBC Breakfast on Friday he would vote in favour of the bill, branding the current law "cruel".

Additional reporting by Amanda Kirton

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