Add your name below to join other UK healthcare professionals in urging MPs not to re-introduce the flawed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Dear Members of Parliament,
We write, as healthcare professionals, to urge you not to re-introduce the flawed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in this Parliamentary session.
Even for those who favour assisted dying, this bill lacks the safeguards and guarantees necessary to prevent unnecessary deaths.
The bill threatens current suicide prevention strategies at the heart of mental health care in the UK, which rely on the presumption that everyone has inherent dignity, value and worth.
The NHS is broken, with health and social care in disarray. Assisted dying would not be a meaningful choice when end of life care is underfunded and many lack access to specialist provision. It would instead become a default option driven by inadequate support, rather than patient preference.
Coercion and undue influence are difficult to detect, particularly in the context of terminal illness, family pressures, or domestic abuse. Vulnerable patients may feel they are a burden, even if this is never explicitly stated.
At all stages of the bill, we were assured that any difficulties could be sorted out at a later stage. But the bill that will have to be presented to Parliament, if the Parliament Acts are invoked, will be identical to the version passed in the Commons at Third Reading. Significant difficulties remain, including:
Legalisation of assisted suicide would create a coercive perception that society expects people with terminal illness to consider ending their lives. This perception would disproportionately endanger people with learning disabilities, previous mental health problems, early dementia, those who are homeless, socially isolated, elderly, or in coercive relationships.
As healthcare professionals, we have a legal duty of care for the safety and wellbeing of our patients. More must be done for all those who suffer at the end of life, but this bill is not the answer. We respectfully ask you not to re-introduce this bill, but instead invest in the best end-of-life care and psychological support for all.
We would be glad to meet with you to discuss this further.
N.B. This open letter will go to the press and your name may appear there.