Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill

A statement from Callum Anderson MP

As many of you know, Members of Parliament will debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – aka the Assisted Dying Bill – this Friday.

If this Bill passes its Second Reading and subsequently into law, it would give people in England and Wales who are terminally ill and whose death can reasonably be expected within six months the choice to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.

The Assisted Dying Bill is a free vote, which means that the Government is neutral. The nature of the Bill transcends party politics, and MPs can vote based on their conscience and conversations with constituents, experts, colleagues, and their own families and friends.

Over the past few months, I have thought a lot about the very heart of what it means to live — and to die — with dignity. Having read the Bill and its Schedules in full, and weighed up the many compelling moral and philosophical arguments on both sides, I have decided to vote in favour for the Bill.

Thank you for sharing your views, stories and experiences

I am aware this issue has stirred profound feelings across the towns, villages and city that comprise the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, as it has done so across the UK. I want to thank the over 500 people in my constituency who have shared their human stories with me – stories of courage and suffering, and of love and loss, on both sides of the debate.

I also want to assure you this is not a decision that I have made lightly, and it is why I have approached this vote with the utmost respect for those who hold different views. After all, this is a question bound by deeply held beliefs — about life, about morality, and about the role of medicine.  

This legislation, in my view, is not about undermining the belief in the sanctity of life. It is about choice, and it is about autonomy. It is about compassion for those who are facing the most difficult of circumstances at the end of their lives.

All of us agree that every life is precious and beautiful, and that every effort must be made to provide comfort and care at the end of a person’s time on this planet. But there are cases where even the best palliative care cannot alleviate unbearable suffering.

I was moved by the stories I heard from constituents, of how they wished to relieve their parents, spouses, friends – and occasionally adult children – from unbearable pain. I heard from people whose relatives pleaded to have their lives ended, but were powerless to help them.

I will refrain from giving specific examples to respect people’s privacy, but I want to reassure those who wrote in and shared their deeply personal experiences that I read each and every email and letter that I received. I could feel how much you cared about this issue and how distressed you were at seeing someone you loved die without dignity and in pain.

Why I am voting in favour

For some individuals, the ability to choose how, where, and who is by their side as they pass offers a measure of peace when faced with the certainty of death.

I sincerely believe that this Bill offers this right safely. I consider its clear and narrow scope to be a carefully constructed response to a specific and exceptional situation. This Bill does not, rightly, compel anyone to make this choice.

I have heard concerns from some I represent about the scope of the Bill, and I promise that I would not vote in favour of it if I thought that it could leave people vulnerable to abuse. The parameters of the Bill are clear, and I am satisfied with the safeguard of having two medical practitioners and a High Court judge verifying that the person is eligible and has made their decision voluntarily.

Assisted dying is a measure that should only be considered in the exceptional circumstances outlined in the Bill. For many, the comfort of palliative care will always be the preferred option. And I agree that we must give our hospices, including Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes, the resources they need, so that they can best support people.

However, for a small number of people, palliative care simply cannot alleviate their suffering. We owe it to those individuals — and to their families to offer a safe alternative.

I also recognise that for many constituents who wrote to me against this Bill, this is an issue of conscience, particularly for those who hold religious or philosophical objections. I respect those views.

In fact, it is precisely because we live in a diverse and pluralistic society that I believe we should offer the choice to those who seek it, without imposing it on those who do not.

This is not about forcing one worldview upon another, but about granting individuals the freedom to decide for themselves, in consultation with their doctors and loved ones, how they wish to face the end of their life.

While there are no easy answers, I do believe that as democratically elected representatives in a compassionate society, we owe it to our citizens to give them that choice.

This is one of the most important votes I will ever have to make, and I hope this statement explains my thinking and shows just how much consideration I have given this decision.