MPs from the Labour Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and Green Party have come together to back a new amendment to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to allow those with neurodegenerative illnesses to access assisted dying when they have twelve months or fewer to live, rather than six, as currently stipulated in the Bill.
The amendment would align England and Wales’s assisted dying law with that found in most of Australia and would be particularly important for people with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Huntington’s, and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), as well as some people with Parkinson’s. Under the Bill as introduced, some people with these conditions who meet the eligibility criteria of terminal illness would be excluded as the six-month limit is frequently past the point at which they need an assisted death – and sometimes it is past the point they can even be granted one.
The amendment is being brought by Tom Gordon MP (Lib Dems), Rachel Hopkins MP (Labour), Alicia Kearns MP (Conservative), Siân Berry MP (Green), Lizzi Collinge MP (Labour), Anna Sabine MP (Lib Dems), Neil Duncan-Jordan MP (Labour), Cat Eccles (Labour), and Vikki Slade MP (Lib Dems), with more expected to come on board over the coming days. It is likely to be debated on Tuesday 11 February. Humanists UK and My Death, My Decision have welcomed the move.
Proposing the amendment, Tom Gordon MP, who is on the Bill Committee, said:
“This Bill is about ensuring people facing painful deaths from terminal conditions can have the choice of how they die. For those with neurodegenerative conditions, in their last six months, it may be too late for them to engage in the bureaucracy of applying. The amendment I have put forward, supported by colleagues across the house, will ensure more people with neurodegenerative conditions will be able to access an assisted death if that is their choice.”
Rachel Hopkins MP, who is also on the Bill Committee, said:
“Having listened carefully to comments made by witnesses at evidence sessions from other jurisdictions, I can see why this amendment is needed. Our assisted dying law should be a compassionate one, and where that means people with different terminal conditions need a different approach, I support that.”
This amendment changes the definition of a terminal illness for the purposes of the Act to include neurodegenerative illnesses, diseases or medical conditions where a person’s death in consequence of such an illness can reasonably be expected within 12 months.
