Wes Streeting 'will vote against assisted dying Bill' because NHS in too dire state for Brits to make 'informed choice'
23 October 2024, 09:44 | Updated: 23 October 2024, 09:59
The Health Secretary is set to "vote against" legalising assisted dying because NHS end-of-life care is in such a dire state, patients are unable to make an informed decision.
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Wes Streeting will not support Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill because our health system Brits to make an informed decision, it's been claimed.
An intervention that has shed doubt over the passing of the bill, Wes Streeting is said to have told backbenchers on Monday that he has now changed his stance on legalising assisted dying.
As reported by The TImes, a narrow majority of Labour MPs who have declared their stance on the subject are thought to be backing the change in the law.
It claims Cabinet ministers have been advised to stay out of a debate on the subject - which the government is said to be neutral on - and on which MPs will be given a free vote.
At least 100 Labour MPs currently remain undecided on the bill, with Streeting’s “explicit” opposition to changing the law likely to add to existing concerns about assisted dying.
Streeting is the latest Cabinet minister to oppose the assisted dying bill.
It comes after justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said she would vote against the bill because of her “unshakeable belief in the sanctity and the value of human life”.
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It follows comments from Streeting's Cabinet colleague, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who explained to LBC that politicians have a "duty" to reflect the public's wishes and "give terminally ill people a choice".
Introducing the bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, she added the current law is "not fit for purpose".
The bill is set to allow terminally ill adults with a limited prognosis to be given the choice of whether to end their life.
It stands in contrast to views held by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who labelled the bill "dangerous", adding such a bill was a "slippery slope” that could see people compelled to end their life prematurely.
