Expert Panels Make for Stronger, Safer Bill

As week four of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee comes to a close, MPs have held a critical vote that will pave the way for Kim Leadbeater MP’s amendment to establish judge-appointed expert panels to examine assisted dying requests, in addition to approval from two independent doctors.

Dignity in Dying CEO Sarah Wootton said:

“The Government has already said that, while it is neutral on whether the law should change, this Bill is workable and operable as it stands, and officials have advised on key amendments including this proposal. By creating an enhanced role for a range of professionals who are skilled at assessing decision-making – while retaining judicial input – the Committee is making an already robust, practical Bill even stronger, and offering transparent scrutiny that is non-existent under the current blanket ban. Indeed, it is a measure that even Committee members who voted against the Bill at Second Reading have indicated they will support.

“Currently hundreds of terminally ill people take their own life in the UK every year, and dozens of Britons travel to Switzerland to access greater choice – but without any upfront safeguards to ensure decisions are settled, voluntary and in full awareness of all care and treatment options open to them. 

“The multidisciplinary panel – appointed by a judge and made up of lawyers, social workers and psychiatrists – presents a far more robust, safe and fair approach than the status quo, where scrutiny is applied too late or not at all. These are skilled professionals whose varied expertise will help ensure that terminally ill people are making informed decisions of their own volition, free from undue influence. And amendments to ensure these professionals – as well as the doctors who initially review each request – are trained in identifying coercion will bolster these safeguards even further. 

“It’s reassuring to see support for the judge-led Commission from across the broad spectrum of Committee members, showing that practical, responsible measures that put terminally ill people at the heart of the Bill, are being recognised.”

Members indicating support for the amendment included Sojan Joseph MP, a former mental health nurse who voted against the Bill at its Second Reading in November, who said in yesterday’s sitting:

“I welcome this amendment of having a panel being brought in. I really welcome it. This is one of the strong areas I was concerned about and all patients having access to a psychiatrist and the social worker is very welcome and reassuring.”

Jack Abbott MP, who also opposed the Bill at Second Reading, said:

“To sum up I think this panel approach represents a huge leap forward. I think for some members no amendment, no changes, no safeguards will ever be enough for people to support the bill, but I think what we’ve got to do as a committee is come out with the process and a settlement which is strong, robust, puts the patient first, and make sure we’re acting in their interest as well.”

Sarah continues:

“As the Committee’s detailed, technical discussions continue, it’s people like Nat, Elise and Jenny who remind us who and what this Bill is for. They have watched the proceedings from the public gallery this week. Each of them has terminal cancer and is currently denied a safe, legal choice to die on their own terms here at home. Each has seen loved ones suffer agonising deaths. For Nat, Elise and Jenny – and for all of us – we can and must do better. Kim Leadbeater’s Bill achieves that.” 

*ENDS*

For more information or interview requests, please email Georgina O’Reilly, Media and Comms Manager at Dignity in Dying georgina.oreilly@dignityindying.org.uk or call 07768438258.