The Prime Minister has indicated he remains supportive of the assisted dying Bill on the eve of further debate by MPs and amid questions raised by a leading psychiatrists’ body.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which relates to England and Wales, returns to the House of Commons on Friday for the first time since a historic yes vote in November.
It is not yet clear whether time will allow for a third reading vote, with the possibility that the report stage could instead run into a second day next month due to the large number of further amendments which have been proposed.
A cross-party group of MPs with medical and clinical backgrounds has urged colleagues in Parliament to support the Bill, which they say now has “stronger protections and solid cross-party support”.
Their appeal followed what was been branded by one opponent as a “blow to (the Bill’s) foundations”, when the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) announced late on Tuesday that it has “serious concerns” and cannot support the proposed legislation in its current form.
The college, which is the professional medical body for psychiatrists, said it has “unanswered questions” about the safeguarding of people with mental illness.
RCPsych, which remains neutral on the principle of assisted dying, has also warned of a shortage of consultant psychiatrists to meet the demands of a Bill which would currently require a psychiatrist to sit on a three-member panel alongside a social worker and senior legal figure to assess a terminally ill person’s application.
Reports speculating on the numbers of MPs who had supported the Bill last year but are now considering voting against it have been dismissed by the Bill’s backers who reject the idea the proposed legislation is at risk of collapse.
The Prime Minister was one of those who voted in favour of the Bill in November, and signalled on Thursday that his mind has not changed on the matter.
Speaking during a visit to Albania, Sir Keir was asked if his views on assisted dying had changed during the passage of the Bill.
He told broadcasters: “I do understand there are different views, strongly held views on both sides that have to be respected.”
Pressed for his current opinion, Sir Keir said: “My views have been consistent throughout.”
A statement, signed by supportive MPs including doctors Neil Shastri-Hurst, Simon Opher and Peter Prinsley, said the law must change.
They said: “In our experience, most healthcare professionals understand that the current law is not working. It criminalises compassion and forces dying people into situations no civilised healthcare system should accept: unbearable pain, unmitigated suffering, or the traumatic decision to end their lives overseas.
“Too often clinicians are placed in an impossible position, where supporting their patients to access choice overseas would mean risking their careers by breaking the law.
“As doctors and clinicians, we would not tolerate such a system in any other area of care. As parliamentarians, we cannot defend it now.”
Dozens of amendments have been tabled and many could be debated and voted on during a five-hour sitting in the Commons on Friday.
As it stands, the Bill would allow only terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death – subject to approval by two doctors and the three-member expert panel.
