Few recent pieces of British legislation have proved as controversial as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. Despite assisted suicide being decisively rejected by parliament multiple times in past years (including by 330-118 votes in 2015), Leadbeater has pushed on with her bill in the face of mounting opposition.
The bill was published only days before its second reading and one of its supposedly “robust” safeguards was a requirement for sign-off from a High Court judge for each individual case. For many MPs, who were denied the chance to take more time over this life-and-death issue, this so-called ‘safeguard’ was central to its appeal, and they saw judicial oversight as a vital check.
