There are growing fears Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill could be defeated when it returns to the Commons next week, as MPs claim confidence in it is rapidly being lost.
The warning comes as Ms Leadbeater suffered her first major defeat on Friday, after MPs voted to introduce new safeguards to prevent health professionals raising the subject of assisted dying with children.
They voted 259 in favour and 216 against an amendment tabled by Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier stating “no health professional shall raise assisted dying with a person under 18”.
It is understood Ms Leadbeater didn’t support the amendment because she agrees with the British Medical Association, which has said doctors should not be put in the position where they are barred from raising it with patients.
It comes amid concerns that if people under 18 with terminal illnesses are unable to get the advice they want from their doctor, they will turn to the internet, where they are more likely to be subject to misinformation.
Labour MP Paul Waugh told The Independent that today’s voting shows the bill has “rapidly lost the confidence of MPs”, adding that the “strong momentum against it is now clear”.
“It had a Commons majority of 56 last November. That was cut to 36 last month on a key amendment. Today, we saw a further cut of the majority to 21 and 26 on amendments. And the final vote – a big defeat for the proposer of the bill by 43 votes – just underlined how uncomfortable MPs are.”
Mr Waugh added: “The more the scrutiny of this particular bill, the more MPs have deep concerns about its lack of safeguards for the vulnerable.”
But sources close to Ms Leadbeater insisted there is no reason to believe momentum is being lost, pointing out that the decline in majorities came as a result of fewer MPs attending the debate overall. It is understood that Ms Leadbeater is confident that support for it remains strong.
Kit Malthouse, who supports the bill said: “The evidence from today is that our numbers held strong. Our majority proportionally was the same. On one vote, where a fine judgment was required, obviously views of colleagues differed. But if anything, that would probably strengthen their conviction to vote for the bill, having supported us in other votes.”
Danny Kruger, who has been a vocal opponent of the bill, said he is “increasingly hopeful” it will be voted down next week.
“The tide is turning on the Assisted Suicide Bill”, he said. While he described the success of the amendment to prevent health professionals from raising the subject of assisted dying with children as a “big victory”, he warned that the bill is “still way too open to abuse”.
Rachael Maskell, who is against the bill, added: “It is clear that now MPs are engaging in the detail of the Bill that they can see the cracks and are losing confidence”.
“A very different picture was painted today to when the Bill passed with 56 votes in the autumn to an amendment passing by 43 votes today against the will of the Bill’s sponsor. MPs now need to engage with the evidence which clearly sets out why this particular Bill is not fit for purpose”, she told The Independent.
But pro-assisted dying sources pointed out that people on both sides of the debate voted to support the extra safeguards for children.
Debating the amendment, Dr Neil-Shastri-Hurst MP, a medical doctor, said: “Those who have had the privilege of meeting a young person living with a terminal illness will know that they often display a maturity and a depth of understanding far beyond their years.
“To deny them the opportunity of a considered conversation about their future upon reaching adulthood is not an act of compassion, in my view; it is to abandon them.
“It is to leave them isolated, navigating a complex and deeply personal journey through the filter of online forums, rather than in dialogue with trusted, qualified professionals. We owe them better than that.”
Opinion in the medical community has been divided over the bill, with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) expressing concern, while some MPs who are doctors are among the Bill’s strongest supporters.
Seven RCPsych members, including a former president and vice president, have written to MPs to distance themselves from their college’s concern, instead describing the Bill as “workable, safe and compassionate” with a “clear and transparent legal framework”.
Meanwhile, Claire Macdonald, director of My Death, My Decision said “no-one should be forced to suffer, and the British public wants politicians to change the law on assisted dying”.
In a letter to MPs this week, Ms Leadbeater said supporters and opponents appear in agreement that “if we are to pass this legislation, it should be the best and safest Bill possible”.
She added: “I’m confident it can and will be.”
The proposed legislation would allow terminally-ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.
MPs are entitled to have a free vote on the Bill and any amendments, meaning they vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
