This Government has recently confirmed that there will be a free vote in the current session of Parliament on a private members bill regarding the legalisation of assisted dying in the United Kingdom.
Assisted dying is an emotive topic, one which rightly attracts strong and impassioned views.Having lost both my own parents, like many, I have my own personal experience of the moments towards the end of life.
Many constituents have already contacted me regarding assisted dying, and in thiscorrespondence, I promised to engage with all views to inform my own perspective and come to a reasoned and compassionate decision on how to eventually cast my vote. It is a responsibility that I take seriously and although many will disagree with whichever decision I eventually make, I will provide a number of ways in which constituents can share their own opinions and personal experiences.
At the time of writing, there is no published Bill and therefore no specific proposals with which to engage. I hope all would accept that on such a serious topic which seeks to regulate the balance between the state and the individual in the most difficult of circumstances, the detail really does matter. It will inevitably take time for any Bill to pass through all the many parliamentary stages and the eventual Bill may well be amended to be quite different from its initial draft.
I am sympathetic to the suffering and pain experienced by many who have received a terminal diagnosis and I understand hopes by some that a change in the law could bring relief, personal choice and dignity. It would also prevent the fear of prosecutions although from my observation, in practice prosecutors seem to take a pragmatic position and these are rare. Against this, I am naturally sceptical of any legislations ability to properly regulate complex issues like assisted dying and concerned about the potential development of a ‘slippery slope', whereby people already under duress or suffering feel pressured to end their life in order to relieve others of perceived burden. Locally, I am very familiar with long standing issues such as access to high quality elder care, palliative treatments and the shortage of hospice places.
I plan to host at least two public meetings on this topic, where constituents are invited to come and share their views. I want to ensure that everyone feels they have the opportunity to properly share their perspectives before I come to my final decision. One will be based here within my West Sussex constituency and the other in Westminster. I will update this page with how to register to attend these meetings once there is a clearer understanding of the timing of possible votes.