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Assisted Dying For The Terminally Ill Bill
The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill seeks to change the law to allow people with terminal conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease to receive assistance from doctors to end their lives.
The controversial Bill was last debated in the House of Lords on 12 May 2006. Ninety Peers took part in the debate, which lasted seven-and-a-half hours. The Bill was eventually defeated by 148 votes to 100.
In advance of the debate the Association sent a Briefing Paper on MND to the Peers who had put their names down to speak in the debate. During the debate MND was mentioned eight times, with Lord Griffiths of Burry Port complimentary our briefing paper saying,
“I was impressed among the welter of material that came my way to read a submission from the Motor Neurone Disease Association which declares that it is neutral on this question, but argues that if autonomy and freedom to choose are really what we seek, there would be no genuine choice for those in its client group until the very best palliative care was available to all who needed it. In other words, it is not available now; the question of choice is, therefore, inappropriate and perhaps the timing of this initiative is wrong”.
The MND Association neither supports nor opposes any attempt to change the law regarding euthanasia or assisted suicide because we believe it is a matter of individual conscience and it is not for the Association to make judgements. However, in advance of any change in the law, we are campaigning to ensure that the very best palliative and terminal care is available to everyone who needs it. Only then will anyone considering ending his or her life early genuinely have a choice.
The Bill has been amended several times since it was first introduced in Parliament by Lord Joffe. The original Bill sought to legalise euthanasia whereas the Bill debated in May focused on physician-assisted suicide.
View the full Assisted Dying Bill.
In advance of the debate the Association sent a Briefing Paper on MND to the Peers who had put their names down to speak in the debate. During the debate MND was mentioned eight times, with Lord Griffiths of Burry Port complimentary our briefing paper saying,
“I was impressed among the welter of material that came my way to read a submission from the Motor Neurone Disease Association which declares that it is neutral on this question, but argues that if autonomy and freedom to choose are really what we seek, there would be no genuine choice for those in its client group until the very best palliative care was available to all who needed it. In other words, it is not available now; the question of choice is, therefore, inappropriate and perhaps the timing of this initiative is wrong”.
The MND Association neither supports nor opposes any attempt to change the law regarding euthanasia or assisted suicide because we believe it is a matter of individual conscience and it is not for the Association to make judgements. However, in advance of any change in the law, we are campaigning to ensure that the very best palliative and terminal care is available to everyone who needs it. Only then will anyone considering ending his or her life early genuinely have a choice.
The Bill has been amended several times since it was first introduced in Parliament by Lord Joffe. The original Bill sought to legalise euthanasia whereas the Bill debated in May focused on physician-assisted suicide.
View the full Assisted Dying Bill.
