EPA Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said there is no budget for an assisted dying service, which MPs narrowly backed in a landmark vote on Friday. Streeting, who was one of the most senior opponents of the legislation, posted a lengthy message on his Facebook page explaining why he voted against the legislation. Among other … Read more
Maia Davies & Johanna Chisholm BBC News Getty Images Dame Esther Rantzen told the BBC in 2023 that she had joined assisted dying clinic Dignitas Dame Esther Rantzen has appealed to the House of Lords not to block a bill giving terminally ill adults in England and Wales the right to an assisted death, after … Read more
Fergus Walsh Medical editor PA Campaigners hold placards outside parliament in London Today’s vote is hugely significant. It now looks highly likely that assisted dying will be introduced in England and Wales. The vote by MPs to approve Kim Leadbeater’s bill is arguably the biggest vote regarding bodily autonomy since the legalisation of abortion in … Read more
A group of protesters gathered at Parliament Square as MPs debate the final stage of a bill today which could legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. One woman described her son dying of cancer in “excruciating pain” saying that assisted dying would have given him a choice. Another protester said that the bill would … Read more
BBC Jabez Petherick says hospice care made a big difference to him As a nurse who supports terminally ill patients to die in their own homes, Angelina Blair sees first hand the last few hours of people’s lives. “There are times where you put on a brave face, you smile, you give the care that’s … Read more
Opposition to a bill which would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is growing among MPs, the BBC has found. The Assisted Dying Bill was supported by 330 MPs last year, passing its first major vote in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 MPs from a wide range of political parties. … Read more
Sam Francis Political reporter Harry Farley Political correspondent Getty Images MPs will debate a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales for the first time since significant changes were made to it. The bill passed the first stage of the Commons last November – but since then the details have been pored over … Read more
Catherine Burns Health correspondent Vicki Loader Health producer BBC More than 1,000 GPs in England have shared their views about the assisted dying bill with BBC News If you ask these three doctors about being GPs, their answers are remarkably similar. “It can be the best job in the world,” one tells me. It’s “a … Read more
Catherine Burns Health correspondent Harriet Agerholm Data journalist BBC GPs are deeply divided over assisted dying, with personal beliefs shaping their views Family doctors in England are deeply divided on the issue of assisted dying, BBC research on plans to legalise the practice suggests. The findings give a unique insight into how strongly many GPs … Read more
The number of people choosing an assisted death could top 4,000 a year within a decade of the law coming into force if MPs vote for it, a review of the policy says. The estimate forms part of the official impact assessment, which has been carried out by civil servants to inform MPs as they … Read more