A new law allowing terminally ill people in England and Wales to seek help ending their own lives may take two years longer than expected to come into force because of changes made to the safeguards.
The author of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, has conceded that changes to protections introduced to the legislation mean it may not come into force until 2029, even if signed into law this year.
Britain’s MPs narrowly voted in favour of a bill to legalise assisted dying last year, following an emotionally charged House of Commons debate.
Last month, the bill was amended by Leadbeater so that responsibility for approving an assisted death would rest with a panel of experts, including a legal figure such as a KC, rather than a High Court judge. MPs were originally told that the legal protection of a judge was key to preventing abuse of the system.
Under her most recent amendment to the bill, the maximum period to implement the new law will now also be extended from two to four years to account for the need to create these new panels.
A spokesperson for Leadbeater said: “Kim has always been clear that it’s more important to get the assisted dying legislation right than to do it quickly.
“The bill now contains even stronger safeguards than when it was first tabled, with a new judge-led voluntary assisted dying commission and multidisciplinary panels to examine every application. These will inevitably take longer to implement.
“But the four-year limit is not a target, it’s a backstop. Kim hopes and believes the service can be delivered more quickly if it becomes law later this year.”
Proponents of her private members’ bill, which would allow anyone with six months or less to live to seek help to end their own lives, had hoped it would take just two years to become available to the public.
The extension to the timeline is the latest change to have raised questions over the process underpinning the proposed law, which poses substantial questions for the government. The timing may also mean that implementation falls after the next general election, which must be held by 2029.
Critics and palliative care professionals have warned that any law change on assisted dying could be a “slippery slope” to fewer restrictions and greater pressure on the sick to end their lives over fears they had become a financial burden.
Some critics of the bill say that protections against misuse of the legislation have been weakened during the committee stage when MPs voted on amendments to the proposals.
They argue that, under the proposed law, doctors would be allowed to suggest the option to people under 18 — even though they are not allowed to use the system — which was not in the spirit of the original measure.
An amendment that would have prevented this was voted down by the committee. An attempt to require an additional test of mental capacity — to protect people with dementia or learning difficulties from being pressured into ending their lives, for instance — was also rejected.
