Palliative care doctors in UK say assisted suicide bill rests on ‘misconceptions’

London, England, Dec 4, 2024 / 14:30 pm

The case for assisted dying rests on dangerous misconceptions about the reality of death and dying, according to leading palliative care doctors across England and Wales.

Following a Westminster debate on Nov. 29 in which members of England’s Parliament (MPs) voted in favor of legalizing assisted suicide, 15 palliative care specialists voiced their concerns in a letter to The Times, published Dec. 3.

Reflecting on the historic vote, the signatories wrote that “anyone watching the debate would have been forgiven for thinking that most deaths involve great suffering.”  

“While we do not deny ‘bad deaths’ can happen, most reflect failure of care,” the doctors wrote. “As the bill progresses through Parliament we must ensure that this is accompanied by progress in understanding ‘ordinary dying.’”

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was initiated by MP Kim Leadbeater and allows terminally-ill adults aged 18 or over the right to request medically assisted suicide.

The bill passed its Second Reading last Friday, with 330 MPs voting in favor of it and 275 against it.