Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has warned that the proposed law on assisted dying “will have the unintended consequence of creating at least as much anguish as it alleviates”.
The Chief Rabbi’s comments were made as the details of the Assisted Dying Bill, said to be “the most robust” in the world, were unveiled on Monday night. The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who has previously supported assisted dying, now says he will not pressure his MPs on the issue – on which the government has pledged to remain neutral.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been sponsored by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who says hers is the only Bill in the world with “three layers of scrutiny” in the form of sign-off by two doctors and a High Court judge.
Ms Leadbeater said the proposed legislation for England and Wales would offer the “safest choice” for mentally competent adults at the end of their lives, and is capable of protecting against coercion.
But the Chief Rabbi said he believed that the passing of the Bill, should it become law, had “the potential to fundamentally alter the way we regard life as uniquely precious”.
Though he acknowledged that “the quest to bring peace to those who are suffering unimaginable pain is a noble one – undoubtedly rooted in compassion and empathy”, he said that “the devastating evidence” from other countries was clear: “when we numb, or remove altogether, our reverence for the precious gift of life itself, we withdraw from a moral standard, to which we might never return”.
Ms Leadbeater’s Bill is due to have its first debate at the end of the month. It will be the first time assisted dying has been debated and voted on in the Commons in almost a decade.
Only terminally ill adults with less than six months to live who have a settled wish to end their lives would be eligible under the new law.
Critics say the Bill is being “rushed with indecent haste” and that MPs will not have adequate time to scrutinise the legislation before the November 29 debate and vote.
But Ms Leadbeater rejected this argument, saying almost three weeks was “plenty of time to look at the Bill” and was normal within parliamentary timeframes.
She also suggested any new law would not take effect for another two to three years, with “even more consultation to make sure we get it right”.
She acknowledged this would be “heartbreaking” for people and families for whom change could come too late.
Ms Leadbeater said her private member’s bill would make it illegal for someone to persuade a person through dishonesty, coercion or pressure to declare they wanted to end their life or to induce someone to self-administer drugs to die.
Anyone found guilty of doing so would face a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
In an interview with the PA news agency, Ms Leadbeater said: “Throughout the process there are layers and layers of safeguards and protections which I believe will probably make it the most robust piece of legislation in the world.”
It is thought the shortest timeframe for the process from first making a declaration to ending a life would be around a month. Terminally ill people who have been resident in England and Wales for at least 12 months would have to take the prescribed medication themselves.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has already said he intends to vote against the Bill, voicing his fears about coercion and people feeling a “duty to die”, while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has warned of legalisation leading to a “slippery slope” in terms of who is eligible.
High-profile supporters of a change in the law include Dame Esther Rantzen, who is terminally ill and revealed in December that she had joined Dignitas due to the current law.
The broadcaster has hailed the “wonderful” Bill, but acknowledged it would probably come into effect too late for her, and recognised that its narrow criteria would not help people enduring unbearable pain and distress through chronic illness.
