The assisted dying bill, which is passing through Parliament, has been amended to require doctors involved in helping terminally ill people end their life to undergo abuse training
Stronger safeguards for domestic abuse victims have been included in assisted dying legislation as it passes through Parliament.
Doctors involved in helping terminally ill people end their life would now be required to undergo training to identify signs of domestic abuse. They would be taught how to identify abuse including coercive control and financial control if the bill passes and becomes law.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is leading on the proposed assisted dying legislation, on Wednesday supported the addition to her bill. The amendment, which was backed by dozens of other MPs, was put forward by Labour MP Jess Asato, who voted against the bill in November.
Ms Asato said she was glad her amendment had been accepted but warned she still remained “deeply concerned” about the impact of the bill amid “the risk of assisted dying being used by abusers as a form of femicide”. “Training is important, but no amount of training will prevent victims from slipping through the net,” she said.
Ms Leadbeater has made clear that she is willing to amend her bill to strengthen it as it undergoes intense scrutiny before another vote by MPs later this year. She said: “By requiring doctors involved in assisted dying assessments to undergo specialist training in recognising domestic abuse and coercive control, we are embedding world-leading safeguarding standards into law.” The MP has also supported an amendment to require doctors to offer to refer patients to a palliative care specialist.
Ms Leadbeater faced pushback last month over her decision to remove the need for High Court judge approval from her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. She said her plans would be strengthened by introducing a judge-led expert panel, which would include psychiatrists and social workers, to sign off each case. Ms Asato has tabled a separate amendment
Assisted dying is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Many Brits travel to Switzerland’s assisted dying clinic Dignitas or take their own lives out of desperation for their suffering to end.
Dame Esther Rantzen, who has been among the high-profile critics of the current law, branded it “cruel” that her family could not travel to Dignitas with her “because otherwise they are liable to being accused of killing me and they get investigated by the police, so that’s just messy and wrong and not what we want”.
Ms Leadbeater added: “Under the status quo, terminally ill people are taking matters into their own hands, whether by ending their own lives at home or traveling to Switzerland. Right now, we cannot know whether they are making fully voluntary, informed choices. This Bill brings long-overdue scrutiny and regulation to decisions that are already happening behind closed doors, where potential coercion is hardest to detect.”
Opposition campaigners have raised fears that vulnerable people could be coerced or pressured into ending their lives. Some argue it could be a slippery slope, and the legislation could be expanded over time – although Parliament would have to vote on any changes as with any legislation. Another concern is whether it will divert focus from the stretched palliative care system.
