The Health and Social Care Committee has published its report on
Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide.
Committee chair, , said he hoped it will - as
set out in the original terms of reference - act as a
comprehensive basis for future debate in both Houses of
Parliament. The cross-party group of MPs say their report is
not intended to provide a resolution to the debate but
to present a broad body of evidence as
a ‘significant and useful
resource’ for future debates.
The report covers Parliament and the current law, the
Government's role in the debate, international examples of
jurisdictions where AD/AS is available in some
form, the involvement of physicians and assessments of
eligibility and capacity to give informed consent, and palliative
and end-of-life care.
The Committee identified the pursuit
of high-quality compassionate end-of-life care as
a common theme in the evidence it received. Also
important was agency and control for the person dying.
AD/AS is currently being considered in both Jersey and the Isle
of Man, and the Committee concludes that the Government
should be “actively involved in discussions” on how to
approach possible divergence in legislation between
jurisdictions.
During the course of its inquiry, the Committee visited Oregon,
which became the first US state to legalise the
practice, and collected both written and oral evidence from
international witnesses. The report concludes that many of
the jurisdictions which have legalised AD/AS did so
recently, with still much to learn as time passes.
Despite the UK being a world leader in palliative
and end-of-life care, the report concludes that access
and provision of such care is patchy.
It recommends the Government ensures universal
coverage of palliative and end-of-life services, including
hospice care at home, and more specialists in palliative
care and end-of-life pain relief. The
report urges the Government to commit to
guaranteeing that support will be provided to any hospices
which require funding assistance.
The report also calls for new guidance from the GMC and
the BMA to provide clarity to
doctors on responding to requests for medical
reports for applicants seeking AD/AS abroad.
More than 68,000 responses were made by members of the
public through an online form, with more than 380 pieces of
written evidence submitted to the inquiry since
its launch in December 2022. MPs express gratitude to each
organisation and each member of the public who contributed to the
inquiry, including those taking part in roundtable
events.
Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee said:
“The inquiry on assisted dying and assisted
suicide raised the most complex issues that we as a
committee have faced, with strong feelings and
opinions in the evidence we heard.
“We intend the information and
testimony we present in our
report today to have a lasting legacy and, as we
set out in the initial terms of reference, be a significant and
useful resource for future debates on the issue.
That could still be during this Parliament of course or after the
next General Election.
“We’re particularly grateful to those who shared very difficult
personal stories. The accounts were
enormously helpful to us as we considered
the issues involved and I’d like to put my thanks
on record.”
ENDS
Further information:
- The final report sets out consensus as agreed by the
Committee and the formal minutes reflect where
there were differences in opinion among members.
- A petition calling for the Government to
allocate parliamentary time for assisted dying to be fully
debated in the House of Commons, and to give MPs the
opportunity of a vote on the
issue, will itself be considered for parliamentary
debate after reaching more
than 100,000 signatures. It can be accessed here.
