{"id":328385,"date":"2025-03-24T06:38:40","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T11:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=328385"},"modified":"2025-04-17T16:38:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T21:38:44","slug":"uk-lawmaker-removes-safeguard-assisted-suicide-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/uk-lawmaker-removes-safeguard-assisted-suicide-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Assisted suicide vote delayed three weeks to give MPs more time to review changes"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

UPDATE 4\/17\/2025: According to The Guardian<\/a>, a vote on the UK’s assisted suicide bill has been pushed back three weeks and will now return to the Commons on May 16 instead of April 25 for its report stage and votes if time allows.<\/p>\n

Kim Leadbeater, lead sponsor of the bill, said she is “absolutely confident” that postponing the vote would not delay the bill’s passage. It was delayed after MPs in opposition to the bill expressed concerns that there was not enough time to consider the changes made in the bill before the scheduled vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI greatly appreciate the effort colleagues have made to keep the previously announced date free in their diaries, but I have listened carefully to members on all sides of the issue who have told me that they would welcome more time to consider the amendments made to the bill in committee and to consider the new version of the bill in its entirety as a result of these important changes,” she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fully appreciate the dedication and seriousness with which colleagues are approaching this hugely important issue, and feel I have a duty to take these comments on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Right to Life UK<\/a>) Despite facing a major backlash against proposals to remove the centrepiece High Court safeguard from her assisted suicide Bill, Kim Leadbeater has [on March 12] proceeded to remove this flagship safeguard by joining colleagues in voting to successfully remove the Court approval clause<\/a> in the Bill.<\/p>\n

In the build-up to the vote in November, Leadbeater boasted<\/a> her Bill has \u201cthe strictest safeguards anywhere in the world\u201d, highlighting<\/a> the High Court judge safeguard as evidence for this. This provision in the Bill was repeatedly<\/a> positioned<\/a> by Leadbeater and her allies as a key component of the Bill.<\/p>\n

After earlier definitively telling<\/a> The Times<\/em> that she would not scrap the centrepiece High Court judge safeguard in her Bill, at 10pm the night before the first day of line-by-line scrutiny, after MPs had returned to their constituencies for the February recess, Kim Leadbeater announced<\/a> that she would be tabling an amendment to scrap the \u201csafeguard\u201d in the Bill that required a High Court judge to approve assisted suicide applications.<\/p>\n

Leadbeater attempted to position the replacement as \u201cJudge Plus\u201d and was resoundingly criticised<\/a> for using what many saw as a deeply misleading term.<\/p>\n

Replaced with \u2018death panels\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leadbeater has proposed that the flagship High Court safeguard will be replaced by what has been labelled<\/a> by media outlets as a \u2018death tzar\u2019 who will oversee panels, dubbed<\/a> the \u2018death panels\u2019, that will include a more junior legal figure, a social worker and a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

Legal experts have been very critical of the new plan, highlighting several major<\/a> issues<\/a> with the new proposed replacement.<\/p>\n

The panels will include a social worker and psychiatrist and will likely take them away from their frontline work in areas where there are already major shortages.<\/p>\n

In January, the Royal College of Psychiatrists revealed<\/a> that 1.6 million people are waiting for mental health care, where early treatment is often essential and some people are waiting<\/a> for two years or more for mental health appointments.<\/p>\n

A British Association of Social Workers\u2019 survey in 2023 found<\/a> \u201cadequacy of staffing levels\u201d and \u201cworkload demand\u201d amongst the greatest challenges faced by social workers.<\/p>\n

Major backlash<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the announcement that Leadbeater would scrap this key \u201csafeguard\u201d in her Bill, five major national newspapers<\/a> \u2013 The Independent<\/em>, The Times, The Telegraph, the Daily Mail <\/em>and The Sun<\/em> \u2013 have run editorials that raise serious concerns about the removal of the High Court safeguard.<\/p>\n

These major newspapers have been joined by dozens of prominent media commentators and experts who have come out against the Bill (see some of this media coverage listed below this press release).<\/p>\n

Bill in danger<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Independent<\/em> reported<\/a> that, during the Second Reading debate, 60 MPs identified the High Court judge safeguard as an important reason for their support, with a further 20 pointing to the necessity of \u201cjudicial oversight\u201d.<\/p>\n

A number of MPs who supported the Bill have indicated<\/a> to The Times<\/em> that they are having second thoughts about voting for the Bill at Third Reading.<\/p>\n

With the vote passing at Second Reading by a margin of 55<\/a>, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading.<\/p>\n

One Liberal Democrat MP who voted for the Bill in November said<\/a> the safeguard was identified \u201ccountless times\u201d, saying \u201cOne of the most important things to me when I voted for the bill was the inclusion of a High Court judge and during the debate, that was used countless times to allay our concerns\u201d. He added \u201cI need to look my constituents in the eye and tell them that the safeguards are still there, and now I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m there\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lib Dem MP Alistair Carmichael, a former minister who voted for the Bill, commented<\/a> that he was no longer sure about voting in favour at Third Reading, and he would need to \u201cgive it some thought\u201d. Another former minister, Sir David Davis, also said<\/a> he would study the revised proposals before coming to a decision.<\/p>\n

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said \u201cOnly a few months ago, Kim Leadbeater touted her Bill as having the \u2018strictest safeguards in the world\u2019, with the centrepiece safeguard in the Bill being the High Court provision\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite a major backlash, Leadbeater has now astonishingly gone ahead and scrapped this centrepiece safeguard in her Bill. She has removed the very provision that<\/a> 60 MPs identified as a key reason for their support at Second Reading\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis dangerous Bill would place thousands of vulnerable people at risk in the coming years if it is passed. Just 28 MPs changing their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading. We must now see this Bill defeated\u201d.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: This article was published at Right to Life UK<\/a> and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE 4\/17\/2025: According to The Guardian, a vote on the UK’s assisted suicide bill has been pushed back three weeks and will now return to the Commons on May 16 instead of April 25 for its report stage and votes if time allows. Kim Leadbeater, lead sponsor of the bill, said she is “absolutely confident” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":669,"featured_media":328386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,5,4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAssisted suicide vote delayed three weeks to give MPs more time to review changes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The vote was delayed after MPs raised concerns that there was not enough time to review changes made to the assisted death bill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/righttolife.org.uk\/news\/leadbeater-scraps-high-court-safeguard-from-assisted-suicide-bill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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