Vulnerable people should not consider 'assisted suicide' their only option, says Abbott
The mother of the family, Labor's Diane Abbott, told BBC Radio 4's Today program that she voted against the bill because she feared vulnerable people would be “caught up on the path to assisted dying”. said.
She said a quarter of people who want to place a family member in hospice are unable to do so, adding:
If you think about choices, the choices of people who could end their lives peacefully and happily if they had support, but who might push themselves into a corner because they don't want to be a burden or because they're worried. You also have to think about it. This means that families' finances are being strained by treatment costs, and some people believe that hospital beds should not be occupied.
I think they should have a real choice and not think that assisted suicide is the only option.
She said she “thought it very seriously” but voted for “vulnerable people who are choosing assisted suicide for probably the wrong reasons.”
Meanwhile, Abbott said any tweaks to the bill in committee are unlikely to sway him or other lawmakers who voted against it in the future.
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She said that a quarter of people who want to place family members into hospices are unable to, adding:
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If we are thinking about choice, we also have to think about the choice of people who if they could get support, could end their lives peacefully and happily but might find themselves either because they don’t want to be a burden or they are worried about their family’s finances being drained by the cost of care or even a few people who think they shouldn’t be taking up a hospital bed.
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I think they should have a genuine choice and not see supported suicide as the only option.
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She said she thought “very hard about it” but voted for “vulnerable people who, perhaps for all the wrong reasons, were going to opt for assisted suicide”.
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Meanwhile, Abbott said that tweaks to the bill at committee stage were unlikely to sway her and other MPs who voted against it further down the line.
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Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news and views from Westminster over the next few hours.
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MPs have taken a historic step toward legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their own lives.
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Campaigners in favour of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill said it was a significant move towards giving people more choice over the way they die, after the Commons backed the bill by 330 votes for to 275 against.
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Brought by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, the bill would give terminally ill adults with less than six months to live the right to die once the request has been signed off by two doctors and a high court judge.
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It still has further steps to go through before becoming law, and supporters believe assisted dying will not be an option for those with a terminal diagnosis for at least three years.
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The vote, which is the first on the issue for almost a decade, split the political parties and the cabinet. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves voted in favour alongside prominent opposition MPs such as Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt. Those voting against included Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister; Wes Streeting, the health secretary; Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader; and Nigel Farage, the Reform leader.
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During the five-hour debate, the Commons heard impassioned pleas on both sides. MPs recounted personal experiences of illness and death, and appeals they had heard from their constituents on assisted dying.
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Esther Rantzen, who galvanised the debate on assisted dying last December after revealing she had lung cancer, said the bill offered everyone “equal choice”.
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She said:
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Those who don’t want an assisted death and don’t want to take part in providing assisted dying can opt out of it, don’t have to do it, don’t choose to end their lives that way. So it offers everyone equal choice, whatever their religion.
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Kit Malthouse, who made an impassioned speech in favour of the legislation, said parliament had taken a “significant first step” and called for the government to now dedicate more parliamentary time to consideration to the bill.
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According to recent polling, three-quarters of the public back a change in the law.
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For the full report on yesterday’s historic vote, see here:
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Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, chair of the health and social care select committee, voted for the assisted dying bill in the House of Commons yesterday.
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Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said she has “long believed, especially in the cases of terminally ill adults, that they should have that choice at the end of life”.
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She said:
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I’ve been moved by personal experiences, my best friend’s mother contracted cancer about 20 years ago and we lived in Belgium at the time.
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She started the process but in fact died before she was able to complete the legal part of the process because the cancer was so aggressive. I saw how taking back that little bit of control in her life was important to her.
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Parliament needs to take the arguments against the bill “seriously” though, she added, while saying that health secretary Wes Streeting should be taking a more proactive approach to the issue of palliative care.
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She said:
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I was disappointed. I was expecting an announcement from Wes Streeting yesterday to say ‘look, we’ve heard and we are going to do something’ … immediate funding commitments and a view to making sure this is dealt with in the next year or two.
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I would argue that, whether this passes or not, that is one of the key messages that came out of the debate.
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main events
MPs approved the assisted dying bill on second reading by a vote of 330 to 275.
However, the bill has not yet been passed and needs to go through several further steps.
my colleague Kiran Stacey has put together an excellent guide outlining what happens next as a bill progresses to the committee stage.
Read the full report here:
Saturday's UK front page was dominated by steps taken by MPs towards legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales, backing a bill that would give some terminally ill patients the right to end their own lives. Ta.
Here's a summary of this morning's news coverage:
Vulnerable people should not consider 'assisted suicide' their only option, says Abbott
The mother of the family, Labor's Diane Abbott, told BBC Radio 4's Today program that she voted against the bill because she feared vulnerable people would be “caught up on the path to assisted dying”. said.
She said a quarter of people who want to place a family member in hospice are unable to do so, adding:
If you think about choices, the choices of people who could end their lives peacefully and happily if they had support, but who might push themselves into a corner because they don't want to be a burden or because they're worried. You also have to think about it. This means that families' finances are being strained by treatment costs, and some people believe that hospital beds should not be occupied.
I think they should have a real choice and not think that assisted suicide is the only option.
She said she “thought it very seriously” but voted for “vulnerable people who are choosing assisted suicide for probably the wrong reasons.”
Meanwhile, Abbott said any tweaks to the bill in committee are unlikely to sway him or other lawmakers who voted against it in the future.
Liberal Democrat leader says Labor must take immediate action on palliative care
Liberal Democrat Leila Moran, chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, voted in favor of the assisted dying bill in the House of Commons yesterday.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “We have long believed, particularly in terminally ill adults, that they should make that choice at the end of their lives.”
she said:
I was moved by a personal experience. My best friend's mother had cancer about 20 years ago and we were living in Belgium at the time.
She started the process, but her cancer was so aggressive that she actually died before completing the legal part of the process. I realized how important it was for her to regain some control in her life.
But she added that Parliament needed to take opposition to the bill “seriously”, while also saying Health Secretary Wes Streeting should take a more proactive approach to palliative care issues. .
she said:
I was disappointed. I was expecting an announcement from Wes Street yesterday saying “we heard, so we're going to do something”…a promise of immediate funding and a commitment to definitely address this problem within the next year or two. My opinion is that it will.
Whether or not this passes, I would argue that is one of the key messages that came out of the debate.
Lawmakers support landmark assisted dying bill that would give some terminally ill patients the right to end their lives
good morning. Welcome to the UK Politics Live Blog. I'm Tom Ambrose. We'll be bringing you all the latest news and views from Westminster over the coming hours.
MPs have backed legislation that would give some terminally ill patients the right to end their own lives, taking a historic step towards legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales.
Campaigners supporting the End of Life Adults (End of Life) Bill say the bill will give people more choice about how they die, after the House of Commons backed it by a vote of 330 in favor and 275 against. He said that this is an important move towards the future.
The bill, introduced by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater, would give terminally ill adults with less than six months to live the right to die, if signed by two doctors and a High Court judge.
There are still further steps to the law, and advocates believe assisted dying will not be an option for terminally ill patients for at least three years.
It was the first vote on the issue in nearly a decade and divided political parties and the cabinet. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves voted in favor, along with prominent opposition MPs including Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Reiner was among those who voted against it. Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader. and reformist leader Nigel Farage.
During the five-hour debate, the House heard impassioned appeals from both sides. Lawmakers shared their personal experiences with illness and death, as well as complaints they've heard from constituents about assisted dying.
Esther Rantzen, who galvanized the debate about assisted dying after revealing she had lung cancer last December, said the bill would provide “equal options” for everyone.
She said:
People who do not want assisted dying and who do not want to participate in the provision of assisted dying can, and do not have to, opt out of it and do not have to choose to end their lives that way. Therefore, equal options are provided to everyone, whatever their religion.
Kit Malthouse, who gave an impassioned speech in favor of the bill, said Parliament had taken an “important first step” and called on the government to devote more parliamentary time to debating the bill. I asked for it.
Recent polls show that three-quarters of people support changing the law.
For a full report on yesterday's historic vote, see here.
