Right to die ‘must not become a duty’ Former Home Secretary
A bill to legalise assisted dying needs stronger safeguards to stop terminally ill people applying because they feel they are a burden and have a duty to die, says James Cleverly, former home secretary, reported in the Times on January 27th. He said: “My amendment will make it clear that feeling like a burden is not a reason for assisted dying and that doctors and judges should safeguard against that risk”
A significant number of people who chose to end their lives in four jurisdictions where assisted dying is legal cited “feeling like a burden.” The figure was 59% in the US state of Washington, 43 per cent in Oregon, 35 percent in Western Australia and 49 per cent in Canada.
Cleverly, who voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading in November said it had no explicit safeguards to avoid a similar outcome.