LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 29, 2024: Disabled people and their supporters gather outside … [+]
A number of U.K.-based disability charities and community advocates have expressed their concern and disappointment over a historic change in the law to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people to move one step closer to becoming reality yesterday.
Though still a distance from finding its way onto the U.K. statute book, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill introduced by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater was approved after an emotionally charged House of Commons debate with 330 members of parliament voting in favor and 275 against it. The vote was held as a free vote allowing MPs to vote with their conscience rather than along party lines. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves voted in favor of progressing the legislation. On the Conservative opposition side of the house, whilst former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also voted in favor of the bill, current Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoc voted against it.
Under the new proposals, terminally ill individuals who are expected to die within six months and can demonstrate the mental capacity to make an informed choice can begin the process of ending their own lives by seeking the approval of two independent medical doctors seven days apart. A High Court judge would also need to ratify the decision. Medical practitioners would then be permitted to prepare a lethal substance to end the patient’s life but cannot administer it meaning that the patient would have to take it themselves.
Supporters of the proposals say that it will represent a viable option to end unbearable torment and suffering at the end of life when there is no hope of improvement and allow people to die with agency and dignity. Opponents maintain concerns about ultimate choices that can never be undone and the danger of manipulation and exploitation from third parties despite the bill’s stringent safeguards. They also argue that some suffering could be alleviated by better investment in palliative care.
Regardless, months of additional parliamentary scrutiny from both the House of Commons and House of Lords involving additional votes now lie ahead and so the bill may not become law for two years.
Speaking out for disability rights
Nevertheless, yesterday’s vote represents a pivotal moment for patient groups, medical professionals, parliamentarians and British society at large. Though everyone has a stake, it is the disability community that now sits at the coalface of this highly contentious issue. Yesterday’s news has provoked significant dismay and concern from certain sections within it.
In a statement published on its website immediately following the vote Disability Rights UK wrote:
“Disability Rights UK is deeply dismayed by the passing of the second reading by MPs of the Assisted Dying Bill with a majority of 55 in Parliament. This decision comes as a profound betrayal to Disabled people across the U.K., who continue to struggle to live with dignity in a society that fails to meet even our most basic needs.
“At a time when social care is chronically underfunded, accessible housing is scarce, and many Disabled people are unable to afford food, energy, or other essentials, this legislation sends a chilling message: the government prioritises the right to die over the right to live.
“We stand firmly against a law that risks pressuring Disabled people into decisions driven by fear, desperation, or lack of options rather than genuine choice. This legislation could deepen inequalities and reinforce societal biases that view Disabled people’s lives as less valuable.”
On November 28, the eve of the vote, Disabled People Against Cuts penned an open letter to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on behalf of a coalition of Deaf and Disabled people’s organizations. In the letter, DPAC criticized parliament for rushing through the legislation in the absence of effective and accessible consultation with the disability community.
“The passage of this bill does not comply with the accessibility needs of Deaf and Disabled people to engage despite the high stakes that we have in this question,” DPAC’s letter states.
“Accessibility requirements covered by the Equality Act include information provided in accessible formats, extended timeframes for responding to consultations and opportunities to give our views in accessible ways.
“The speed with which this bill is progressing places Deaf and Disabled people and our organizations at a disadvantage in getting our voices heard and many of our MPs are unable to respond to constituency emails in less than six weeks.”
Regardless of what side of the argument one occupies, today’s vote undoubtedly represents a changing moment and disability rights campaigners who oppose assisted dying will be required to reposition themselves post-haste to adjust to a new reality on the ground.
