Dozens of MPs were accused of trying to lead Parliament down a ‘slippery slope’ as they push for a widening of the scope of a proposed Assisted Dying law.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP for Spen Valley, will table a Private Member’s Bill to legalise the practice on October 16, with a free vote for lawmakers expected before Christmas.
Her proposals will give terminally ill adults the right to end their lives.
But as many as 38 Labour MPs are among 54 parliamentarians calling for the scope of the bill to be widened so that those who are ‘incurably suffering’ are also eligible.
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Campaigners said any moves to extend eligibility will put the ‘poor, vulnerable and disabled’ at risk of coercion to end their lives prematurely.
Kim Leadbeater (pictured), the Labour MP for Spen Valley, will table a Private Member’s Bill to legalise the practice on October 16
Pro-assisted dying campaigners gather outside the UK Houses of Parliament as MPs prepare to debate over changing the law on assisted dying in April
Dr Gordon MacDonald (pictured), CEO of Care Not Killing, said the law is a ‘slippery slope which is impossible to get of’
A free vote for lawmakers is expected before Christmas. (An assisted suicide pod pictured)
Dr Gordon MacDonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, told the Mail: ‘This is exactly what we have been warning. If assisted suicide is legalised it will inevitably be extended to include wider and wider categories of people.
‘It’s a slippery slope which is impossible to get off.
‘That is not what the Labour Government should be prioritising when 74 per cent of the British public want NHS waiting lists reduced and only four per cent want assisted suicide to be a priority.’
Ms Leadbeater said her Bill will be focussed on legalising assisted dying only for the terminally ill but suggested it was ‘important that the debate is broad and robust and very open’.
Several backbenchers are expected to seek a meeting with her to discuss adjusting the wording of the legislation, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Lizzi Collinge, the Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, wrote to the Spen Valley MP to say that the debate about assisted dying should ‘ultimately be about human suffering’.
She added: ‘Some people who do not have a prognosis of six months or less will be suffering in a way that no matter what you do, no matter the care you receive, their suffering becomes intolerable. That, I think, needs to be reflected in the law.’
No 10 have said they will not obstruct the legislation, while ministers have been told to remain neutral on the matter by outgoing Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of pressuring Labour MPs to back it, however, with one telling the Mail on Sunday that ‘some will feel they can’t vote against’ the Bill.
Lord Alli, who has given Sir Keir more than £39,000 in gifts and hospitality, expressed his support for the idea during a House of Lords debate in 2014.
The Prime Minister’s Cabinet is split on the issue, with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds publicly opposed, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband would support the proposed changes.
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