MP leads battle for law to allow assisted dying
Mitchell believes move is inevitable
BIRMINGHAM MP Andrew Mitchell is leading calls to change the law so that people can choose to end their own life.
And he said that he believes a majority of people support a change in the law – and MPs may now be willing to vote for it, despite rejecting similar proposals in 2016.
Mr Mitchell (Con, Sutton Coldfield) is backing assisted dying where people who have only months to live, with no chance of recovery, would have the option of ending their life in a pain-free way.
A High Court judge would need to examine each request, to ensure that it had been made voluntarily and the patient had not been put under any pressure or coercion.
Mr Mitchell said: “When I entered the House of Commons in 1987, I was adamantly opposed to all forms of assisted dying. But over the years I have completely changed my mind.
“It is first and foremost because of my experience as a constituency MP.
“I have sat in my office in Sutton Coldfield and heard stories from so many of my constituents.
“Often with tears pouring down their faces, they have given me deeply intimate details of the last days of someone they loved but who died a miserable and sometimes very painful death.
“By the end of these meetings, often with tears coursing down my own face, I was invariably left with two overwhelming feelings: the first is that we would not let an animal we loved be treated in such a way and, second, I do not myself wish to go through the sort of end of life experience that my constituents have so often eloquently described.
“And just as I would not want it for myself, I no longer want members of my family or those I represent in Parliament to have to navigate so awful an end.”
The MP is chairman of the All Party Group on choice at the end of life, which includes members of both the Commons and the Lords and is calling for a change to the law. He believes MPs may be willing to vote to change the law within four years. The proposals would mean:
Giving people who are terminally ill (and also in the final months of their lives) the option of dying on their own terms.
The change in the law would contain stringent safeguards to protect people; it would only be accessible to mentally competent adults.
Two doctors would assess the person making the request to ensure that they met the eligibility criteria under the law. They would explain all other care options in full.
A High Court judge would examine the request and make sure that it was being made voluntarily – free from any pressure or coercion.
Once the request was approved, a doctor would be able to prescribe life-ending medication for the person who would then take it themselves under the supervision of a doctor or another healthcare professional.
Healthcare professionals who wanted to exercise conscientious objection would, of course, be able to do so.
There would be clear reporting procedures for doctors as well as monitoring through an annual report published by the Government.
Mr Mitchell said: “Assisted dying is legal in 10 states in the United States of America, two states in Australia, nationwide in Canada and likely to be nationwide in New Zealand later this year. In no country with legalised assisted dying has the law been repealed. And in Britain we now have the opportunity to look at the differing legislative approaches in all of these countries, evaluate them, and deliver the best possible results for our constituents.”