Legal Eagle: Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill explained

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, sometimes known as the ‘assisted dying bill’, is something that is currently being scrutinised by the House of Commons. A bill is a proposed piece of legislation that has to be contemplated and assessed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. To become law, the bill has to be passed by both houses and granted royal assent by the King.

The bill has been created to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. It provides protection for health carers to assist in the dying process to those who are eligible. Some of the proposed eligibility criteria are that a person needs to be over the age of 18, that they have less than 6 months to live, and that they have the capacity to make a clear and informed decision.

There are many people who are backing the bill and see it as a large milestone for a person’s privacy and autonomy. The current law surrounding suicide and assisted dying could be criticised as being archaic and old-fashioned. Providing a new statute that allows people to choose freely when they die and be able to end their own suffering provides a new and liberal alternative to what may have been seen as a bleak end to life.

However, the new proposals have also raised questions in relation to their adequacy of protection. Arguably, individuals who would be accessing the legislation would be the most vulnerable of our society. Some say that the protections put in place do not go far enough to prevent those from being exploited and coerced into decisions they may not freely make.

Similar laws have been implemented in other countries such as New Zealand, Canada, and certain states in America. The current bill is still a long way from being introduced as law and will have to pass through more questions and scrutiny before it becomes law. Simply because it is going through the parliamentary procedure also does not guarantee that it will be implemented into statute.

The current draft of the bill suggests that the patient must make two declarations stating that they wish to end their life. Following the first declaration, two doctors must separately assess the patient to ensure that they meet the eligibility criteria. Should both doctors agree that a person is eligible, the individual is then provided with an eligibility certificate.

After the certificate has been granted, a person would then make their second declaration. The declarations have to take place in order to enable a doctor to prepare the medicine, and then the individual must administer this substance themselves.

Of course, all of the current provisions are subject to change while progressing through the scrutiny process. It has been estimated that the proposed bill may not come into effect for another 4 years and it is predicted a lot of changes will be made by then.

Ben Hoare Bell LLP has specialist Court of Protection solicitors who can help with issues surrounding Lasting Power of Attorneys.

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