UK MPs Divided On Ban On Assisted Dying Adverts

Adverts about assisted dying should be banned if proposed UK legislation allowing terminally ill people to be helped to die becomes law, MPs were told Friday.

Protestors both for and against the bill gathered outside parliament, as lawmakers debated the contentious proposals for legalised euthanasia currently making their way through parliament.

Opening the debate, the legislation's sponsor MP Kim Leadbeater proposed an amendment to her bill which would require the government to introduce regulations banning advertisements promoting assisted dying services.

But bill opponent Paul Waugh, advocating his own tighter amendment to prevent ads, warned that unforeseeable "exceptions" could make Leadbeater's ban "worthless".

"Advertising works because we human beings are suggestible. Prone to messaging, visual clues and hints. Older people are bombarded with adverts for everything from stairlifts to care homes," he said.

"One person's advert, though, is another person's public information campaign," he added.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is at the report stage of the lengthy parliamentary process, where lawmakers can propose amendments.

The bill would allow assisted suicide in England and Wales for adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of fewer than six months and are able to take the substance that causes their death by themselves.

Following a debate in parliament last November, MPs backed the proposed legislation by 330 to 275 votes. 

Campaign group Dignity in Dying hailed that result as a "historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people", but Christian Concern called it a "very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country".

According to media reports some lawmakers who previously supported the bill could withdraw their backing over concerns around safeguards to protect vulnerable people who might feel pressured into assisted dying.

Medical opinion is also divided, with the two doctors' bodies -- the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) -- expressing concern.

Others remain supportive, including seven RCPsych members who wrote to MPs distancing themselves from their college and describing the bill as "workable, safe and compassionate".

Members will have a final vote at the bill's next stage -- the third reading. It would then face another vote in the Lords upper house.

Leadbeater's initiative is a so-called private members' bill and is not part of the government's agenda, although Prime Minister Keir Starmer voted in favour at the November reading.

A change in the law would see Britain emulate several other countries in Europe and elsewhere who allow some form of assisted dying.
 

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