Following the second reading (and parliamentary support) of Labour MP Kim Leadbetter’s terminally ill adults (end of life) bill on November 29, much of the public debate in England and Wales will now shift to questions around safeguards. If the safeguards aren’t considered adequate, the bill is unlikely to pass through the several parliamentary hurdles that remain before it becomes law.
So what safeguards or steps are needed to verify a person’s choice of assisted dying? To answer this question, lawmakers will look to evidence from other jurisdictions with experience of assisted dying.
For example, there have not been any reported cases of coercion of patients to access assisted dying in Victoria, Australia. But the UK also has some relevant and long-standing experience it could draw on.
