HISTORIC VOTE
Vote on bill to legalise assisted dying will take place in Commons within months
The last time the Commons debated and voted on assisted dying was in 2015
AN historic vote on assisted dying will take place in the Commons within months.
A Bill to legalise the early ending of life will be introduced to Parliament by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater on October 16.
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It will pave the way for a major Commons debate and free vote, which Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to honour.
Ms Leadbeater today said her Private Members’ Bill would “give eligible adults nearing the end of their lives” the power to “choose to shorten their deaths if they wish”.
The Labour MP insisted the legislation would contain strong “safeguards and protections” and ensure no one vulnerable feels pressured into dying early.
She also claimed it would not undermine calls for improvements to palliative care.
READ MORE ON ASSISTED DYING
The last time the Commons debated and voted on assisted dying was in 2015.
Both Labour and the Tory leadership contenders have indicated MPs would be given a free vote “with their conscience” on the matter.
Ms Leadbeater said: “I believe that with the right safeguards and protections in place, people who are already dying and are mentally competent to make a decision should be given the choice of a shorter, less painful death, on their own terms and without placing family and loved ones at risk of prosecution.
“I will be consulting widely about the precise details of my Bill and I hope there will be an honest, compassionate and respectful debate about this important and emotive subject."
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Last night, outgoing chief Whitehall mandarin Simon Case wrote to ministers confirming the Government would “remain neutral on the passage of the Bill”.
He urged Labour’s top team not to take part in the public debate around it.
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