Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater has announced she will propose a bill on October 16 which would legalize assisted dying in the United Kingdom (UK). The announcement comes after months of build-up and a promise from Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he was “personally committed” to such legislation.
In an op-ed for The Guardian, Leadbeater pushed the idea that assisted death would give a person “dignity” and “choice.” She also called current restrictions on assisted death “cruel and unjust.”
“Somebody with a terminal condition and very little time left has only limited options,” she wrote. “Parliament should now be able to consider a change in the law that would offer reassurance and relief — and most importantly, dignity and choice — to people in the last months of their lives.”
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Despite these sentiments, which are shared by many who promote assisted death legislation, experts have shown that those who choose the deadly assisted suicide drugs may actually drown to death while paralyzed. Rather than experiencing a dignified and peaceful death, these deaths, which may take hours as the person slowly suffocates while being unable to move, have been described as “cruel” and “disturbing.”
At least one Member of Parliament cautioned against the inevitable repeal of safeguards, and the danger that people will feel coerced to choose assisted death — issues that have repeatedly been seen worldwide.
“I don’t intend to support it,” said Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, according to Right to Life UK. “I know some MPs who support this issue think, ‘For God’s sake, we’re not a nation of granny killers, what’s wrong with you’… [But] once you cross that line, you’ve crossed it forever. If it becomes the norm that at a certain age or with certain diseases, you are now a bit of a burden… that’s a really dangerous position.”
The Catholic Church in the UK has already called on Parliament to vote “no” on the legislation. “The legalization of assisted suicide undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life. There is also now ample evidence across the world that the legalization of assisted suicide puts the most vulnerable members of society at risk,” said Bishop John Sherrington, head of life issues for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. “I wish to reaffirm that the Catholic Church has always been opposed to assisted suicide in every circumstance.”
