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Assisted dying law would lessen suffering says Falconer Assisted dying law would lessen suffering says Falconer
(35 minutes later)
Legalising assisting dying would mean "less suffering not more deaths", a leading campaigner has said as peers debate the issue in the House of Lords.Legalising assisting dying would mean "less suffering not more deaths", a leading campaigner has said as peers debate the issue in the House of Lords.
Lord Falconer said a "limited" change was needed to the law to give the terminally ill choice on their deaths.Lord Falconer said a "limited" change was needed to the law to give the terminally ill choice on their deaths.
He insisted that the "final decision must always be made by the patient", with safeguards to prevent "abuse and pressure" on the vulnerable. He insisted that the "final decision must always be made by the patient", with safeguards to prevent "abuse"
But critics say the bill is flawed and predicated on uncertain diagnoses. But Lord Tebbit said it would create "too much of a financial incentive for the taking of life".
Lord Falconer's bill which would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to terminally ill patients judged to have less than six months to live.Lord Falconer's bill which would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose to terminally ill patients judged to have less than six months to live.
About 130 peers have requested to speak in a debate on the subject, which started shortly after 10:00 BST.About 130 peers have requested to speak in a debate on the subject, which started shortly after 10:00 BST.
'Lonely death''Lonely death'
The bill is expected to get a second reading in the Lords, but without government backing MPs are unlikely to get a chance to debate it in the Commons, meaning it will not become law.The bill is expected to get a second reading in the Lords, but without government backing MPs are unlikely to get a chance to debate it in the Commons, meaning it will not become law.
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is not "convinced" by the arguments for legalising assisted dying but the bill has won the backing of Lib Dem Care Minister Norman Lamb.Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is not "convinced" by the arguments for legalising assisted dying but the bill has won the backing of Lib Dem Care Minister Norman Lamb.
Opening the debate in a full house, Lord Falconer told peers that the current legal situation permitted the wealthy to travel abroad to take their own life while others were left "in despair" to suffer a "lonely, cruel death".
The legislation would allow a terminally ill, mentally competent adult, making the choice of their own free will and after meeting strict legal safeguards, to request life-ending medication from a doctor.The legislation would allow a terminally ill, mentally competent adult, making the choice of their own free will and after meeting strict legal safeguards, to request life-ending medication from a doctor.
'Determined'
Two independent doctors would be required to agree that the patient had made an informed decision to die.Two independent doctors would be required to agree that the patient had made an informed decision to die.
Lord Falconer, a former Labour cabinet minister, acknowledged that "very many people will not want this option" but said the law needed to reflect the fact that "there would always be a group of people who were absolutely determined that they did not wish to go through those last few days". Opening the debate in a full house, Lord Falconer - a former Labour Lord Chancellor - told peers the current legal situation permitted the wealthy to travel abroad to take their own life while others were left "in despair" to suffer a "lonely, cruel death".
"It is time for the law to be changed," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The current situation leaves the rich able to go to Switzerland, the majority reliant on amateur assistants, the compassionate treated like criminals and no safeguards in terms of undue pressure now," he said.
"It needs to be safeguarded because people need to be absolutely clear that it will only apply to people who are capable of making that decision. He said many people were so worried about "implicating their loves ones in a criminal enterprise" by asking them for help to die that they took their lives "by hoarding pills or putting a plastic bag over their heads".
"That is why you need two doctors not only to certify the diagnosis, not only that they have the capacity to do it but also that it is their firm and settled intention to do it." Legalising assisted dying, he argued would allow a "small number" of people who did want to "go through the last months, weeks, days and hours" to die with dignity.
Lord Falconer's bill has been backed by scientist Prof Stephen Hawking, who said the status quo involved "discrimination against the disabled, to deny them the right to kill themselves that able-bodied people have". Lord Falconer's bill was backed by Lord Avebury, the former Liberal MP, who was diagnosed with terminal blood cancer in 2011.
But Lady Campbell of Surbiton, the former chair of the Disability Rights Commission who has spent 50 years fighting a degenerative illness, said uncertainty about the progression of terminal conditions meant the proposals were fraught with danger. He urged peers to consider helping thousands of people who he said faced "weeks of torture before they die a means of escaping from that unnecessary fate".
"I have been given six months to live probably five times in my life," she told Today. 'Confronting mortality'
"Suffering is not a permanent state. It is difficult, in fact impossible, to predict when one is going to die. I have to have absolute faith that my doctors will be there for me and will not give up on me." But the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said the proposed legislation was "not about relieving pain and suffering" but was based on the misguided belief that "ending your life in circumstances of distress is an assertion of human freedom".
'Chilling prospect' He told peers that his mother had been given weeks to live after being diagnosed with throat cancer but, with the help of others, had lived for a further 18 months.
She said people at a very low ebb may be tempted to seek out the approval of two doctors who did not know them and understand the "patterns of their illness". "Dying well is a positive achievement...which belongs to our humanity."
"There is nothing in the bill which offers a psychiatric assessment. These could be two doctors... who have no idea who they [the patients] are. There is no such thing as a prognosis of a few weeks left." Calling for a Royal Commission to be set up to examine the issue, he added: "Confronting mortality is not about being prepared to die, it is about being prepared to live."
The bill was attacked by former Tory cabinet minister Lord Tebbit, who said it could put pressure on people who are unable to care for themselves to "do the decent thing to cease to be a burden on others".
Lord Tebbit, whose wife was paralysed in the 1984 Brighton bombing, also suggested legalising assisted dying could lead to personal and financial disputes between loved ones and relatives.
"The bill would be a breeding ground for vultures, both corporate and individual. It creates too much financial incentive for the taking of life."
Analysis by BBC parliamentary correspondent Sean CurranAnalysis by BBC parliamentary correspondent Sean Curran
It looks as though a record number of peers will take part in the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill.It looks as though a record number of peers will take part in the debate on the Assisted Dying Bill.
More than 130 members of the Lords have indicated they want to speak about the proposals.More than 130 members of the Lords have indicated they want to speak about the proposals.
Peers have already been warned that they'll probably get only four minutes each to make their case.Peers have already been warned that they'll probably get only four minutes each to make their case.
At this stage peers will have a general discussion about the bill. If their Lordships stick to the time limit the debate should end at about 20:00 BST.At this stage peers will have a general discussion about the bill. If their Lordships stick to the time limit the debate should end at about 20:00 BST.
There won't be a vote at the end of this debate but that doesn't mean the measure is guaranteed to become law. The arguments about the details, and the chances to amend the legislation, will come later - after the summer break.There won't be a vote at the end of this debate but that doesn't mean the measure is guaranteed to become law. The arguments about the details, and the chances to amend the legislation, will come later - after the summer break.
And disability campaigner and former Paralympian Baroness Grey-Thompson told BBC One's This Week programme that the bill was a "chilling prospect for disabled people".
"In their eyes, my life is not worth living," she said.
Speaking on Wednesday, the prime minister warned that "people might be being pushed into things that they don't actually want for themselves".Speaking on Wednesday, the prime minister warned that "people might be being pushed into things that they don't actually want for themselves".
The Church of England has called for an inquiry into the issue.The Church of England has called for an inquiry into the issue.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has said he has changed his mind and was now in favour after considering cases like that of locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson and "the reality of needless suffering". But former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has said he has changed his mind and was now in favour after considering cases like that of locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson and "the reality of needless suffering".