Kim Leadbeater on the assisted dying bill: ‘It’s not about ending life, it’s about shortening death’
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Batley and Spen MP Kim Leadbeater tells Lewis Goodall her assisted bill is about dignity, autonomy, and choice.
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In brief…
- Kim Leadbeater speaks to Lewis Goodall about her assisted dying bill.
- The Batley and Spen MP says the bill is about giving terminally ill people a choice, will prevent a great deal of trauma, and argues it will be a “robust” piece of legislation.
- There is growing opposition to the bill, which MPs will vote on at the end of the month.
Why MP Kim Leadbeater supports the assisted dying bill
What’s the story?
It's not a choice between living or dying. It's a choice about how you die.
For Kim Leadbeater, this is the core purpose of her assisted dying bill - giving terminally ill people a choice about how their life will end.
In an interview with The News Agents, the MP for Batley and Spen tells Lewis Goodall how learning of harrowing deaths suffered by terminally ill people motivated her to try and change the law.
“I started hearing more and more stories about people having to make really difficult decisions at the end of their life around what their death looks like, people taking their own lives through suicide, people [only] having the choice if they can afford to go to a different country to end their life in a manner of their choosing.”
The euthanasia debate has been a long running one in the UK, with a previous assisted dying bill failing to pass through the House of Commons back in 2015.
Nine years later, Leadbeater is hopeful her assisted dying bill can get over the line.
What is in the assisted dying bill?
In the UK, it is currently against the law to assist a suicide or attempted suicide in the UK.
If the bill became law, those who are deemed terminally ill would be able to request and lawfully be provided with the assistance to end their life, subject to approval from a high court judge.
To meet the criteria, one must be:
- Over 18 and live in England and Wales, and registered with a GP for 12 months minimum
- Deemed mentally capable enough to make the choice in and expressed a clear, settled desire without coercion or external pressure. Coering or pressuring someone to take the decision would carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years
- Expected to die within six months
- Able to make two distinct declarations, signed, about their desire to die
- Capable of satisfying two independent doctors that they are eligible - with at least a week between each doctors' assessment
Assisted dying bill 'difficult to navigate' for MPs
Why does Leadbeater support assisted dying?
Leadbeater has a firm belief in autonomy, choice and dignity. Currently, she argues terminally ill people are deprived of this.
She notes how the fear terminally ill people have about what the end of their life will look like often leads to suicides.
“The trauma that that creates for families is just horrendous,” Leadbeater says.
Meanwhile, a form of assisted dying is allowed in a range of countries, from Switzerland and Canada to multiple US states.
People sometimes travel to countries where the process is legal, but it can cost tens of thousands of pounds and is traumatic in its own way, Leadbeater explains.
She says: “I met a young woman called Katie, and her mum had an assisted death in Switzerland. But Katie and her sister didn't go with because they were so scared of what that would mean for them.
“Her dad did go on a very, lonely journey, particularly for the person who comes back and then arrives back in this country, thinking ‘are the police going to be waiting for me?”
If you decide to go to Switzerland for an assisted death, Leadbeater notes, “there's no proper funeral” and “you're shrouded in secrecy because you can't tell family and friends”.
But looking at the models other countries use offers an advantage, she says.
“If this bill passes, it will be the most robust piece of legislation in the world. The advantage we have in this country is that this is happening in 31 other jurisdictions, and 13 other countries. So we can have a look at what good practice looks like.” Leadbeater adds: ”We can also have a look at practice that we wouldn't want to have in this country.”
Ultimately, she wants the bill to make the process of dying for terminally ill people a far less traumatic experience than it currently is.
“One of the best expressions I've heard has been that it's not about ending life, it's about shortening death. It's not a choice of living or dying. It's a choice about how you die.”
When could this take effect?
The bill needs to pass a vote in the House of Commons and be approved by peers in the House of Lords before becoming law. The next reading takes place on 29 November.
It is a free vote, which means MPs do not have to tow a party line and can vote whatever way they choose without repercussions.
“it's been a really difficult thing for people to navigate, whether they're Cabinet members or ministers, or indeed, any other MP because it is a free vote,” says Leadbeater.
But she adds: “This is our opportunity. This is our time with a new government, with a parliament that is really embracing it… MPs are taking this very, very seriously.
Why has there been opposition to the bill?
Opposition to Leadbeater’s bill has been growing in parliament.
Some opponents, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, have claimed it might pressure people to end their life earlier than they ought to because “they don't want to be a burden”.
In Canada, which has a slightly different assisted dying system to the one proposed in the bill, a survey found that more than a third of citizens who ended their life under its system said in advance they felt themselves to be a burden to their families and loved ones.
There are also plans in Canada to extend those eligible for an assisted death to include mental health patients.
But Leadbeater says there are safeguarding measures in the bill designed to prevent the UK system from being used in this way.
“We will be checking for coercion throughout the whole process… That's about robust training for doctors and medical professionals.
“You are taking a holistic approach. You'd be speaking to them about their level of pain. You'd be speaking to them about the other options that are available to them in terms of palliative care and medical help and assistance.”
She adds that as there is currently no legal framework which checks for coercion, the fact that the bill would make it a criminal offence “sends a huge signal”.
Streeting has also said he is voting against the bill as he would rather see an improvement to palliative care first.
Leadbeater says her bill has “turbocharged” the conversation about palliative care.
However, for some people palliative care “cannot be enough”, she says.
That is because some people will still die incredibly painful deaths from their terminal illnesses, irrespective of the quality of care they receive towards the end of their lives. The idea behind legally approved medical assistance in ending a life is that it would greatly reduce this level of suffering.
There has also been some religious opposition to the bill, with many religions disapproving of euthanasia.
But Leadbeater points out: “The best comments that I've heard from people of faith have been people who have said to me, ‘I wouldn't want this because of my religious beliefs, but who am I to deny other people the choice?’ And that really resonated with me.”
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