WELLINGTON’S MP has expressed concerns after the house of commons voted to allow a proposed law on assisted dying to progress to the next stage in Parliament.
MPs voted in favour of legalising assisted dying in England and Wales following a five-hour debate on Friday, November 29.
In the first commons vote on the issue in nearly a decade, MPs voted 330 to 275, with a majority of 55, to allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live. The vote has secured the bill’s progression to the committee stage for further debate.
Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, voted against the bill, while Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead voted in favour.
MP Gideon Amos said: “I completely agree that people need better help at the end of life and assisting people with living happily and comfortably right up to the end, that means better palliative care, should be the priority.
“For me, handing to the state the role of assisting people to die, when the alternative option of a real right to live comfortably isn’t there, could be very dangerous for vulnerable people who all too often face coercion already in many areas of their lives.
“My worry is that many who already say they feel they are a burden on others will now put themselves under an unseen and unheard pressure to bring their lives to an end early.
“I hope those who promoted this Bill will ensure, as they promised, that more investment in end-of-life care will become a reality and that, in the next stage, the Bill Committee will look for ways to protect the most vulnerable when assisted dying comes into force.”
Prior to the vote, Mrs Gilmour wrote a letter to the constituents of Tiverton and Minehead which said: “This Bill has sparked a national conversation on this issue and will involve a well-attended debate in the House of Commons, which is in the best interests of those touched by the contents of this Bill, and the impact of those life choices which this Bill seeks to comment on.
“Due to the emotive nature of this issue, it has been - rightfully - deemed a conscience issue. therefore, Members of Parliament will not be ‘whipped’ by their respective parties to vote in a particular direction. The vote that I cast will be a ‘free’ vote, following my conscience, and the reflections I have been able to make on this very important issue.”
Following the result of the vote, Ms Gilmour added: “After receiving hundreds of emails, letters and phone calls, and reflecting on this Bill, I made the decision confident that it is the right one. I voted in favour to further the cause of compassion at the end of life, but also to ensure that this life-changing legislation gets the relevant time and scrutiny at Committee stage - which it would not have done, had it failed to pass the Second Reading.”