Advertising an assisted dying service should it be legalised in England and Wales would be “inappropriate”, the MP behind a Bill said.
Kim Leadbeater said she will propose an amendment to her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to that effect, as MPs prepare to debate the legislation again next week.
It will be the first time the Bill has returned to the House of Commons since it was supported by a majority of MPs in a historic vote in November.
Friday May 16 will see MPs debate and likely vote on various amendments as part of the Bill’s report stage.
Ms Leadbeater confirmed as previously reported that she will propose a clause to ensure “anybody who does not want to be involved in the assisted dying process should not be forced to do so”, meaning pharmacists and any other staff will have the right not to participate.
Speaking to the Parliament Matters podcast, she also said she would be proposing an amendment restricting advertising.
She said: “I’ve spoken to colleagues across the House about this issue. And one thing I am very clear about, that if the law is to change, it would feel inappropriate for this to be something which was advertised.
“So I’m looking at an amendment to that effect as well, and then others around making sure everything is workable in terms of the actual process.”
The Bill passed by a majority of 55 last year, and Ms Leadbeater said she is hopeful some MPs who rejected it at that stage might now change their minds and support it after “additional safeguards” were added.
She told the podcast: “There might be colleagues who were nervous at second reading and voted against and I would like to think some of them would revisit the Bill and say ‘do you know what? This is good for me. I can see the additional changes that have been made, and I would support it’.
“I really hope that that does happen.”
The Bill has undergone significant changes since November.
The High Court safeguard has been dropped and replaced by expert panels, while the implementation period has been doubled to a maximum of four years for an assisted dying service to be in place, should the Bill pass into law.
Amendments have also been brought in to ensure the establishment of independent advocates to support people with learning disabilities, autism or mental health conditions and to set up a disability advisory board to advise on legal implementation and impact on disabled people.
Among those who said their support last year was conditional on feeling assured that safeguards would be strengthened is MP and disability rights advocate Marie Tidball who has since confirmed she will be voting in favour at third reading.
But while some, including Ms Leadbeater, say the Bill has been strengthened, others argue the opposite.
Fellow Labour MP James Frith, who opposed the Bill at its first vote last year, has previously branded the proposed legislation “a mess” with “massive holes”.
Following the conclusion of the committee process earlier this year, he claimed a “growing number of Labour MPs are deeply concerned that the Bill’s progress is carrying on regardless” and raised concerns around the “unaddressed risk of coercion” and the removal of High Court protections.
If time allows on May 16, MPs could also vote on whether to approve the Bill at third reading – its final stage in the Commons – and decide if it is then sent to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.
Voting is according to conscience, so MPs do not vote along party lines, and the Government has said it is remaining neutral as a whole.
