Gordon Brown says assisted dying should not be legalised

22 November 2024, 14:20 | Updated: 22 November 2024, 16:45

Gordon Brown has said he is against legalising assisted dying, based on his experience of his own daughter's death.

The former prime minister said he was concerned that any assisted dying law, "however well intended, would alter society's attitude towards elderly, seriously ill and disabled people, even if only subliminally".

Writing in The Guardian, he revealed how his experience of caring for his "fatally ill" baby daughter, Jennifer, for a few days in 2001 "did not convince me of the case for assisted dying; it convinced me of the value and imperative of good end-of-life care".

Mr Brown is the latest senior political figure to come out against The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater.

There has been much debate about the bill since details about how it would work were published last week. Under the plans, a person would need to be terminally ill and have a life expectancy of six months, and would have to take the fatal drugs themselves.

Ms Leadbeater believes her proposed legislation is the "most robust" in the world and contains safeguards she hopes will "reassure" those who are on the fence.

They include that two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and that a High Court judge must give their approval.

But Mr Brown said the proposed new law "has downsides left unresolved" by the suggested model of two doctors and a high court judge, "not least insufficient protection against pressures, however subtle, on frail and vulnerable people who may feel their lives have become burdensome to others".

He pointed to statistics showing that 375,000 people aged over 60 in England and Wales are estimated to be victims of abuse every year, "and as Dutch ethicist Professor Theo Boer - who changed his position after reviewing thousands of cases - has found, many do feel under pressure to 'make way'."

He added: "To create change, you have to bring people with you.Britain usually moves too slowly on those matters where it should move fast. But sometimes, as now, it can move too fast on an issue where it should go slower, listen and learn.

"And with the NHS still at its lowest ebb, this is not the right time to make such a profound decision.

"Instead, we need to show we can do better at assisted living before deciding whether to legislate on ways to die."

As well as Mr Brown, several cabinet ministers, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, have spoken out against the legislation.

On Monday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson became the latest cabinet minister to say she would vote against the bill, telling Sky News she had not "changed her mind" since the issue was last debated in parliament in 2015.

Read more:
Where does the cabinet stand on assisted dying?
Why is assisted dying so controversial and where is it already legal?

Those in the cabinet who have indicated they will vote in favour of the bill include Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, and Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader and current energy secretary.

The ongoing debate in parliament coincides with a poll out today by YouGov which suggests more than seven in 10 people agree with the principle that assisted dying should be legal.

When asked whether "in principle... you think assisted dying should or should not be legal in some form in the UK", 73% of people said it should be legal, 13% said it should not and 14% said they did not know.

(c) Sky News 2024: Gordon Brown says assisted dying should not be legalised