Thread by @danny__kruger

Thread/
I've quickly digested the Leadbeater Bill, which was published this evening; I hope what follows reflects it accurately. The good news is we can stop this nonsense about 'assisted dying', 'shortening death' etc.

Thanks, I presume, to the Parliamentary drafters who don't like euphemisms in statute, the Bill is explicit we're talking about assisted suicide - 'assistance to end their own life' - and the legislation it amends is the Suicide Act 1961. So that's clear.

The bad news is it's just as bad as all the other efforts to license doctors to kill patients.

The Bill tries and fails to restrict itself to the extreme cases. But anyone who can find two doctors to confirm they're within 6 months of death - and a judge to confirm they're making their own decision - can qualify.

(Actually it's not even 'doctors' but 'medical practitioners', the definition of which will specified at a later date - so a nurse or pharmacist, I guess.)

You need to be registered with the first 'practitioner' for 12 months before they can give the green light. If the second one you pick doesn't agree to sign your form, you can shop around for another one.

And if they don't agree either, I think - it's not clear - you can start the whole process again, and repeat till you get your wish.

So it's death on demand, if a little slow and bureaucratic (for now - till the activists persuade Parliament to speed it up and simplify it on compassionate grounds).

And by the way you don't have to do all this yourself. A 'proxy' - someone you've known for 2 years, or someone 'of good standing in the community' (the Neighbourhood Assisted Death Advisor, perhaps) - can do all the paperwork for you.

The 'practitioner' who issues the drugs doesn't have to be there at the death - they can delegate that to another (more junior) 'practitioner'.

Whoever is there can't officially perform 'the final act' of administering 'the approved substance' but they can 'assist that person to ingest or otherwise self-administer' it i.e. they hold the cup to your mouth or press your finger on the syringe.

So let's walk this through. You get a terrible diagnosis and - as many do - you feel you want to die asap rather than endure a lingering death. Or you are depressed and unwell with a chronic condition - or an eating disorder - and you've given up on ever getting better.

Or your doctor (or their manager) voluntarily suggests that instead of a long, expensive, bed-blocking course of treatment which probably won't work, there is a cleaner, cheaper, altogether lovelier option...

So you register with a 'practitioner' of assisted suicide - probably someone who does this for a living. After 12 months they confirm you're good to go, and you get a sign-off from a second 'practitioner' (also a specialist in just this procedure)...

... and a High Court judge (dealing with 400 of these cases a year according to likely estimates) rubber stamps a form saying you're eligible.

The first practitioner sends along their nurse who sets you up with an IV drip, and puts your finger on the button. And (assuming the procedure works, which it doesn't always) soon enough you're dead.

At which point your family come round and discover what you've done, and realise that the government - the NHS and a judge - have killed their mother or their son without anyone telling them this was happening.

All this is fine if you think you should be able to summon the state to help you commit suicide. Let's just not pretend it's only for the most extreme cases. If it's a right, it's for everyone.

A final word. The Bill imposes an obligation on the NHS to ensure everyone has access to this great new service. There's already an obligation on the NHS to provide palliative care for all - an obligation it fails to meet.

Do you think, when Assisted Suicide is so much cheaper than palliative care - so much cheaper than hospital care itself - this is an obligation the system will duck? Or do you think the system will do its duty, and help as many people as possible enjoy the 'last right'?

Let's not cross this Rubicon. Let's have a proper national conversation about end-of-life care, which could and should be so much better. Let's invest properly in palliative services so no-one has to die in unbearable physical pain. /Ends

PS. I note the Bill makes it LEGAL for a doctor to suggest Assisted Suicide to a patient who hasn't mentioned it (a common problem in cash-strapped health systems), but ILLEGAL for a doctor to refuse to refer someone for Assisted Suicide if they request it. No neutrality here.