Britains two longest-serving MPs have come together from opposite ends of the political spectrum to urge the Commons to reject the proposed law that would legalise assisted suicide.
Left-wing Labour veteran Diane Abbott and Tory Sir Edward Leigh made the highly unusual joint intervention to warn that the Bill being voted on next week is being rushed through and will put vulnerable people at risk.
The pair said that politicians should make laws based on their effect on the whole of society, not just as a result of campaigns led by celebrities, in what will be seen as a reference to Dame Esther Rantzen.
And they also raised concerns that lobbying groups calling for the radical reform are trying to take advantage of the ‘inexperienced new Parliament’ with more than half of MPs elected for the first time in July.
Ms Abbott and Sir Edward, known as the Mother and Father of the House after serving since the 1980s, wrote in the Guardian: ‘The flawed process has been lamentable and wholly unacceptable for a matter of such importance.’
They pointed out that the Private Members’ Bill put forward by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater was published just 18 days ahead of the crucial second reading next Friday, whereas a decade ago MPs had seven weeks to study a previous attempt to legalise assisted dying.
‘The inadequacy of this timescale is heightened by the unprecedented number of new MPs.
Veteran Tory MP Sir Edward Leigh has warned that the assisted dying dill is being rushed through Parliament and will put vulnerable people at risk
Ms Abbott and Sir Edward, known as the Mother and Father of the House after serving since the 1980s, wrote in the Guardian: ‘The flawed process has been lamentable and wholly unacceptable for a matter of such importance’
650 dying wishes were placed on trees outside the House of Commons last week by campaign group Dignity in Dying
Parliament will have sat for just 12 weeks by the time MPs vote on what is, quite literally, a matter of life and death,’ Ms Abbott and Sir Edward wrote.
‘There is more than a suspicion that the pressure groups behind this proposed change have sought to take advantage of an inexperienced new parliament.’
They went on to warn that vulnerable minorities may feel a ‘duty to die’ if the law is changed, citing the example of a poor pensioner whose children cannot afford houses and whose savings are spent on social care.
Although such incidents would be ‘relatively rare’, the MPs say the ‘only adequate safeguard is to keep the current law unchanged’ while also increasing investment in palliative care.
It had been expected that the bill would pass the first hurdle in the Commons next week given widespread public support for assisted suicide and the large number of Labour MPs assumed to be socially liberal.
Its supporters say it has been drafted to include numerous safeguards, restricted help to terminally ill people with less than six months to live who must obtain permission from two medical professionals and a High Court judge.
But a number of prominent ministers including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood have said they will vote against, prompting bitter rows within the party.
Campaign group Dignity in Dying also placed the trees with dying wishes outside Scottish parliament ahead of the assisted dying bills vote
Wes Streeting is one of four big-name Labour MPs set to vote against the bill
Streeting will be joined by Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood in voting down the bill
Yesterday four new Labour MPs revealed they would oppose the bill, citing fears over the risks to vulnerable people as well as the impact on the NHS.
Ministerial aide Preet Kaur Gill also said she would vote against, writing: ‘Asking healthcare workers to administer assisted dying would fundamentally alter the nature of their work and introduce complex ethical challenges into their daily practice.’
However Labour MP Andy Slaughter, who chairs the Justice Select Committee, said there were risks in not updating the law.
‘We should recognise that others are already being assisted to die abroad, but without any protection from our law.
‘Those who plan their deaths in secret at the moment may be doing so because they feel that they are a burden, but because they can’t discuss their fears with their families, they are unable to be reassured. It is the status quo which lacks protections, and this Bill which will deliver them.’