People are getting very excited about the assisted dying bill introduced into the House of Lords by Lord Falconer in July. Carrying the official title “Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill” this is similar to his previous attempt, in 2014, to reform Britain’s law.
His consistency is impressive. The excitement is misplaced. The Bill has very little chance of becoming law. For procedural reasons, it will start in the Lords and probably remain there, unpassed. A much better chance of the necessary change will come when a Private Member’s Bill in the new House of Commons is introduced, hopefully this Autumn.
There are also other reasons to dampen enthusiasm. The Bill’s insistence that an assisted suicide should only be available to sufferers who are going to die from “an inevitably progressive condition which cannot be reversed by treatment” rules out relief for sufferers from Parkinsons or early-stage Dementia. Those are illnesses you die with, not of. As with the 2014 Bill, a patient’s illness will need to be attested by two medical practitioners. They must also be satisfied that the illness is terminal. “Terminally ill” means that you are reasonably expected to die within six months. However, Lord Falconer has now introduced an additional hurdle as well. The patient’s wishes will need to be confirmed by the High Court. And, currently, the High Court is running more than six months behind.
So Lord Falconer is an important and welcome member to the ranks of the reformers. Sadly, his Bill, even if passed, would make little practical difference.
