Great Britain coordinates assisted dying after heated debate
Great Britain coordinates assisted dying after heated debate
in London, British MPs decided on Friday whether the legalization of assisted dying . This controversial project could make the United Kingdom one of the few countries that allow incurable people to end their lives.
The decisive day in parliament
The emotional debate in the Westminster is expected to take several hours, followed by a vote on the same day. If the draft law is passed, people with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of less than six months would have the opportunity to take a substance to end their lives, provided they are able to make this decision themselves. Two doctors and a judge of the High Court would have to approve the decision.
international role models for assisted dying
With this draft law, Great Britain could belong to a small group of countries that enable assisted deaths. Canada, New Zealand, Spain and most Australian states allow assisted dying in a certain form, as well as the US states of Oregon, Washington and California.
a controversial topic in parliament
The vote is the highlight of a long and often painful debate in the country, in which prominent personalities with terminal diagnoses became more difficult. The MPs are deeply split through the questions, so that the vote could show an extremely scarce result. The members of the parliament have the freedom to decide according to their conscience without fear of political consequences.
reminder of Esther Rantzen
In an open letter to the MPs, Esther Rantzen, a BBC presenter with an advanced lung cancer and well-known supporter of the assisted dying, wrote: "Under our current criminal law, most of the terminal people only have the choice between suffering, the way to Sweden or suicide." Rantzen has already explained that she is considering taking the Swiss euthanasia facility Dignitas to end in order to end her life. She asked the MPs to participate in the vote, as it will be likely that this topic will not be treated again in parliament for another decade. "How many will you have to suffer by then?"
concerns and challenges
opponents of the law lead different concerns, including religious beliefs, the solidity of the protective measures and the lack of time to examine the details of the law.
The British MPs are rarely faced with the challenge of deciding on such intimate questions themselves. Many fought this week how they will vote. "Parliament tears itself into half," Rachael Maskell, a Labor MP and prominent opponent of the process, told CNN. "MPs show signs of stress because they have to make this decision in such a short time ... ... it all concerns them completely."
the course of the vote
The debate could take several hours, and the vote that is expected immediately afterwards is the main obstacle that the bill must overcome in order to become a law. Then there is another exam in the House of Lords and through a parliamentary committee.
Today's coordination in the House of Commons is reminiscent of previous releases on topics such as abortion and same -sex marriage. Prime Minister Keir Strandmer will also take part in the vote, but has not announced which side he will join because he does not intend to influence the MPs in one direction.
public support for assisted dying
supporters of the law argue that assisted dying can give terminal patients at the end of life by avoiding months of suffering and physical impairment and at the same time reduces the pressure on palliative care in the country. Surveys show that a clear majority of the public supports assisted dying.
In her open letter, Rantzen wrote: "The sad truth is that no matter how good the palliative care is, not all kinds of suffering can prevent, be it, for example, by falling female, suffocating or deeply rooted agony."
personal stories and raised concerns
The Labor MP Tristan Osborne told CNN that he decided to vote for the process because he has confidence in the protective measures. "I put myself in my own situation and what I would want for my loved ones," he said, describing the option as "one that I would like if I was in this situation."
However, critics fear that the protection of protection of the law will not be strict enough and suggest that patients could feel under pressure to choose the assisted death, just as not to become a burden on their family. Others say that the law has only been presented to the MPs - many of them are only presented at the beginning of their career after the election in July - without comprehensive effects and time to examine the proposal.The condition of the health system
maskell told CNN that the struck National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain was unable to offer assisted dying. "I really believe that the Labor government was chosen because the NHS is a chaos. ... We have to put the NHS in order before we take this way," she emphasized. "To continue on, ignores the urgency we have to edit the under -financed palliative system."
summary of the draft law
The proposed draft law is largely based on the Oregon model and does not go as far as the regulations in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada, which also allow assisted dying in cases of suffering, not only for terminal sick people. In contrast to euthanasia, in which another person intentionally ends a person's lives to relieve suffering, assisted dying remains a form of the patient himself.
At the moment it is a crime in England and Wales to help someone die with a punishment of up to 14 years in prison. Euthanasia, on the other hand, is considered a murder or homicide.