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David Cameron has become the first former UK prime minister to throw his support behind the assisted dying bill.
Lord Cameron had previously opposed moves to change the law, but said he had been won over to supporting the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, set to be debated by MPs on Friday.
Writing for The Times, he said: “As campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life, it is about shortening death.
“Many of these safeguards will be familiar from previous proposals. But this new Bill protects the vulnerable still further, including by making coercion a criminal offence.”
Former PMs Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Baroness Theresa May and Gordon Brown have all said they are opposed to the bill.
It comes as Dame Esther Rantzen has urged MPs guided by their religious beliefs to be honest about why they will vote against plans to legalise assisted dying.
She told LBC: “I mean, what worries me is the number of people who are guided by their faith – that’s fine, that’s their choice, whether they’re Evangelical, Christian or Catholic. Yes, they have the right to choose, but please be honest about your real motivation.”
Dame Esther Rantzen urges MPs to be honest about assisted dying views
Dame Esther Rantzen has urged MPs guided by their religious beliefs to be honest about why they will vote against plans to legalise assisted dying for the terminally ill.
The broadcaster, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them.
The 84-year-old revealed in December last year that she had joined Dignitas, to give her the choice of an assisted death in Switzerland.
Ahead of a debate on the assisted dying Bill on Friday, Dame Esther said she was “heartened” by the fact Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood had disclosed it was her religion which was informing her opposition to the Bill.
The senior Cabinet minister came under fire from Labour peer Lord Falconer for a strongly-worded letter to constituents in which she made clear her opposition to the Bill.
Dame Esther told the broadcaster LBC: “I mean, what worries me is the number of people who are guided by their faith – that’s fine, that’s their choice, whether they’re Evangelical, Christian or Catholic. Yes, they have the right to choose, but please be honest about your real motivation.”
The journalist and television presenter also said some opponents of the Bill had been “claiming facts which are not facts, distorting evidence, when really their reason is that they believe for faith reasons, religious reasons, that this Bill should be opposed”.
Joe Middleton28 November 2024 08:42
David Cameron backs assisted dying bill in shock U-turn by former prime minister
Former prime minister Lord David Cameron has backed the move to legalise assisted dying for terminally-ill adults after previously opposing the legislation.
The Private Member’s Bill is due for its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday, in the first debate and vote of its kind in the House since 2015.
MPs will be given a free vote on the issue, allowing them to decide according to their conscience rather than in line with party policy.
The Bill, which covers England and Wales, says that only terminally ill adults with less than six months left to live and a settled wish to die would be eligible.
Joe Middleton28 November 2024 08:40
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Joe Middleton28 November 2024 08:39
