“Medical assistance in dying will overwhelm the courts and distract from other objectives,” the ministers said…

November 30, 2024, 11:31 p.m.

Cabinet ministers are privately warning that legalizing assisted dying would overwhelm the courts after the House of Commons voted in favor of euthanasia.

The Sunday Times reports that members of Sir Keir Starmer’s senior team fear the bill to legalize assisted dying could strain Whitehall’s already meager budget.

Plans to introduce the practice could distract from the milestones the Prime Minister will outline this week.

According to reports, senior ministers are also concerned that the government is not ready to implement the legislative changes.

Read more: ‘There is still a lot of work to be done’ on medically assisted dying, admits MP behind bill, after House of Commons votes in favor

Read more: 100 days after World Palliative Care Day, what has the Labor government done for the dying?

The bill, which would give adults with less than six months to live with a terminal illness the right to help end their lives, passed Friday with a majority of just 55 votes after a heated debate.

The bill, which would give adults with less than 6 months to live with a terminal illness the right to help end their lives, passed Friday with a majority of just 55 votes.

On Friday afternoon, MPs voted by 330 votes to 275, majority 55, to approve it on second reading.

These concerns were echoed by a palliative care doctor on LBC, who urged Sir Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting to increase funding for end-of-life care.

Rachel Clarke told LBC’s Matt Frei that the Prime Minister and Health Secretary should “ensure a massive injection of resources to ensure Britain cares for its most vulnerable citizens” at the same time as she introduced medical assistance in dying, assuming the bill passes.

Palliative care is not fully funded by the NHS, with hospices relying largely on charitable donations.

Supporters argue it would allow more dignity in death, but others fear it could put even more pressure on the NHS and worry about the ethical implications of the state helping people to die.

Dr Clarke said “words here are irrelevant”, adding that “the most honorable and compassionate thing to do at this time, particularly in light of the bill passed yesterday, is to to honor and respect and not look away from the dying and say: we will fund this properly.

She said that if Starmer and Streeting do not increase funding for palliative care, “they are turning their backs on the dying people they claim to care about”.

Dr Clarke made a direct appeal to the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary, saying “there is a serious danger that their legacy will be… making it easier for people currently living in Britain to end in their days, while not funding the palliative care that makes people still want to live.”

She said: “If they don’t, they think their legacy will be a shame. »

The assisted dying bill still has several steps to go through before becoming law.