More than 50 Labour MPs have asked the House of Commons to delay the vote on legalising assisted suicide, as a result of concerns in regards to the “woefully inadequate” process utilized in what would represent a “foundational change”.
The vote is currently scheduled to happen on Friday. The MPs have written to Lucy Powell, the Leader of the House, requesting a postponement on the vote.
The letter states, “On Friday, Members will debate and vote on perhaps probably the most consequential piece of laws that has appeared before the House in generations.
“This will not be a standard Bill. It alters the foundations of our NHS, the connection between doctor and patient, and it strips power away from Parliament, concentrating it within the hands of future Health Secretaries.
“MPs can be arriving at Westminster on Friday morning without sight of the ultimate version of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.”
The process leading as much as the vote was criticised by the MPs, who said that of the 133 amendments tabled in the course of the Report Stage, they were only given the chance to vote for 12 of them. They also noted that only 14 per cent of MPs had been given the chance to talk in Parliament on the topic, and that even MPs who had proposed amendments were often unable to talk in support of their proposals.
Previous reports have indicated that some MPs had voted for the bill at previous readings merely to maintain debate going relatively than from outright support for the bill. The Labour MPs hinted at this of their letter, saying that the difficulty isn’t any longer an “abstract principle”, but one which is of “real concern” to medical exports.
Various medical bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have issued statements in opposition to the bill.
In related news, The Other Half, a think tank which looks on the impact of presidency policy on women, warned that legalising assisted suicide could lead on to victims of domestic abuse being coerced into ending their lives.
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