Cliff Notes
- Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the assisted dying bill, is optimistic about its passage to the House of Lords, citing strong support from previous votes and polls indicating 72% of Britons back the legislation.
- Concerns from medical professionals, particularly the Royal College of Psychiatrists, highlight potential challenges in the approval process for assisted dying, including a shortage of qualified specialists.
- Proposed amendments set for Friday’s vote aim to clarify eligibility criteria for assisted death and address palliative care assessments, while opposition to certain amendments remains firm within the committee.
MP who introduced assisted dying bill ‘confident’ it will be voted through | Politics News
The politician who introduced the assisted dying bill has said she is “confident” MPs will push it through to the next stage on Friday.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of a Commons vote, Kim Leadbeater said: “I do feel confident we can get through tomorrow successfully.”
If new amendments are voted through on Friday, the bill to give some terminally ill adults the right to end their lives will get closer to becoming law as it will go through to the next stage in the House of Lords.
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Ms Leadbeater, who introduced the bill in October last year, said if MPs do not vote it through on Friday, “it could be another decade before this issue is brought back to parliament”.
But she said there was a “good majority” who voted for the bill at the last major vote, the second reading in November, when MPs voted it through by 330 to 275.
“There might be some small movement in the middle, some people might change their mind or will change their mind the other way,” she said.
“But fundamentally, I do not anticipate that that majority would be heavily eroded.”
A new YouGov poll found 72% of Britons supported the bill as it stands, including 59% of those who say they support assisted dying in principle but oppose it in practice, and 67% were opposed to the principle of euthanasia but are willing to back it in practice.
