Hopes that Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill shall be defeated were bolstered this week with news that a minimum of two more MPs have publicly said they are going to not be supporting it.
The bill passed second reading by 55 votes, nevertheless numerous MPs who previously voted for it have indicated that they did so to maintain the talk going and that they at the moment are considering their position. Others have outright said they are going to now be voting against the bill.
The latest is Liberal Democrat MP Brian Mathew, who said he felt the bill poses a risk to vulnerable people approaching the top of their lives.
Although he voted in favour of the bill at second reading, Mathew recently said in an email to his Melksham and Devizes constituency, “I share the concerns of many constituents that individuals facing terminal illness will take the choice based on concerns that they’ve grow to be a burden upon their family. This is a serious concern for me; I worry that in someone’s final days, this query will loom heavy when it doesn’t have to.”
Although Mathew conceded that those on the opposite side of the difficulty had made “eloquent and difficult” speeches, ultimately he felt that they’d did not adequately address the concerns of those against the bill.
Such concerns also include the chance that members of the family may coerce relatives into selecting suicide and that eligibility for assisted suicide will only grow to be wider, moderately than narrower, should the bill be passed.
Last week one other Liberal Democrat MP said he would even be changing his vote. Steve Darling said that he was “marginally against” the bill, and that he would either abstain or vote against the bill.
According to CARE, eight MPs who abstained or voted for the bill at second reading have now said they shall be voting against the bill.
However, it has also been noted that two former abstainers now look prone to vote for the bill. The recent Runcorn by-election also saw the removal of a negative vote from a Labour MP and its substitute with a pro-assisted suicide Reform UK MP.
Further amendments to the bill shall be considered on 13 June.
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