Assisted dying bill vote – MPs split over fiercely debated legislation just hours away from historic vote

Conservative MP Danny Kruger has been making the case against the Assisted Dying Bill, saying that what the Bill would allow in reality is “assisted suicide”.

Mr Kruger MP explained that he also has issues with the assessment carried out by doctors under the terms of the Bill: “It is impossible for doctors to predict with any accuracy whether a person will die within six months…The six month cut off is an arbitrary line in the sand.”

He also argues that this part of the Bill can be legally challenged by those who don’t qualify, expanding those who would qualify for an assisted death.

Reform MP Richard Tice has risen to say that there are specific issues that need be ironed out with the Bill, but that this can happen after the initial vote.

Mr Kruger is arguing that “pretty much anyone with a serious illness” could qualify to this.

Mr Kruger was interupted with a point of order from another MP, who told him to stop using the term “assisted suicide”, but he responded: “What this Bill will do is amend the suicide act, it will allow people to assist a suicide. We do need to use the proper language here.”

He also raises the point that there is no requirement under the terms of the Bill for the judge to actually meet the applicant for an assisted death.

“There is no requirement..for anyone to tell the patient’s next of kin…that the medical and judicial system is working in secret to end the life of their loved one,” Mr Kruger argues.

Labour MP Blair McDougall (East Renfrewshire) called for a “precautionary approach” to the assisted dying proposed legislation.

He added: “The things that have moved me in this debate to opposing this Bill today is that I have also heard stories of disabled people who have heard ‘do not resuscitate’ put on to their medical records without their permission, of them being stopped by strangers in the street and being told ‘you’d be better off dead’, and I know she will say that we are voting today on the specifics of her Bill, but we also voting on a principle.”

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater (Spen Valley) replied: Let’s be very clear the title of the Bill is Terminally Ill Adults. It is not disabled people, it is not elderly people, as someone else referenced. The criteria are very, very clear.”

Danny Kruger, Conservative MP, is arguing that the bill is “too flawed” to address in the committee stage, beyond today’s vote.

He argues that palliative care needs to get better before assisted deaths are allowed. He told MPs: “If we get our broken palliative care system right.. We can do so much more for all the people we will hear of today. But we won’t be able to do that if we introduce this new option. Instead we will expose many more people to harm.”

Mr Kruger is arguing that doctors can make the suggestion of an assisted death to the patient, under the terms of the Bill.

Andrew George LibDem MP has argued that today’s vote is just to let the Bill go to the next stage, and that any problems can be ironed out later.

Tory MP Danny Kruger has been chosen to respond to Kim Leadbeater and lead the arguments against the assisted dying bill.

While he is making a very conciliatory and respectful speech, his own family reflects the deep divisions on this issue.

Mr Kruger’s mother cookery writer and TV personality Prue Leith is a campaigner in favour of assisted dying who supports Ms Leadbeater’s bill.

Kim Leadbeater has sought to reassure colleagues over the level of scrutiny the bill will face, saying she will consider giving the Bill Committee the power to take oral and written evidence – something that goes beyond normal practice for a Private Members Bill.

She promised “line-by-line scrutiny” if the legislation passes its second reading, reminding members that a “vote to take this bill forward today is not a vote to implement the law tomorrow”. “It is a vote to continue the debate”, she added.

She also reassured MPs that the committee will meet over a number of weeks, saying there will be “ample time for full consideration of the details”.

It comes after some MPs expressed fears that the legislation has been rushed, with many suggesting that a Private Members Bill is not the right medium for such significant legislation to be debated.

Addressing the Commons, MP Danny Kruger said this bill is “simply too big for the time its been given”.

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard said the assisted dying Bill crosses an “irreversible medical red line for doctors and for nurses”.

Intervening, the MP for The Wrekin said: “Is it not the case that this crosses a new medical irreversible medical red line for doctors and for nurses?

“And is it not the case that in other Bills that we’ve seen in this House over the years, that the safeguards invariably over time become obsolete, so the safeguards in this Bill, however well meant should be seen as temporary safeguards not immutable safeguards?”

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater (Spen Valley) replied: “I respectfully disagree with (Mr Pritchard), the countries where a Bill of this nature has been implemented, the safeguards have been in place and the boundaries have never changed.”

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper has intervened to ask if Kim Leadbeater is willing to toughen up the language of her bill to strengthen safeguards.

Perhaps realising the criticism of alleged loopholes in her bill, Ms Leadbeater readily agreed.

Such interventions can sway some of the undecideds and be more important than they seem in the moment.

Just changing the minds or reassuring a few MPs could be the difference between success and failure today.

Independent MP Richard Burgon has said he is “really concerned” that people in care homes would feel like a burden to their families and seek to end their lives earlier to save social care fees.

He said people might think “If I end my life now, I can save my family between 25,000 and 50,000 thousand pounds”.

DUP MP Jim Shannon was concerned that the Bill did not offer assurances that “we won’t end up in the position in Belgium”, where the criteria for those who can have an assisted death is much broader.

Ms Leadbeater assured the house that “the model that is being proposed here is nothing like what happens in Belgium, it is nothing like what is happening in Canada.”

Tory MP Oliver Dowden raised concerns about “excessive judicial activism” that might broaden the intentions of MPs and widen the Bill beyond just terminally ill adults or others.

A 29-year-old man with cerebral palsy has said the NHS should be “assisting people to live, rather than to die”.

George Fielding from Hammersmith, west London said: “We should be prioritising reform to social care, to the NHS and to palliative care.

“We should be assisting people to live rather than to die.

“This is the cart before the horse. It is, very darkly, the cart before the horse, and it is very pessimistically the cart before the horse.”

He said the situation reads to him like “we can’t afford for disabled people to live good lives”.

Kim Leadbeater told MPs the assisted dying Bill being debated was “nothing like” the laws in Canada and Belgium because while it strived for a similar purpose, it had greater safeguards.

DUP MP Jim Shannon (Shannon) intervened to claim the situation in Belgium had “deteriorated” to include dementia and under 18s.

He asked: “What guarantees have we that this legislation today will not end up as it will in Belgium, in which case ‘anything goes’? Is that what she really wants? I don’t want it, does she?”

Spen Valley MP Ms Leadbeater replied: “Let’s be very clear. A huge amount of research has been done by the Health and Social Care Select Committee and indeed by myself and others.

“The model that is being proposed here is nothing like happens in Belgium, it is nothing like happens in Canada. It is strict, stringent criteria, and if the House chooses to pass this Bill, that criteria cannot be changed.”