Several MPs have tabled a new amendment to Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill to prevent adults under the age of 25 from secretly ending their lives under the Bill.
As the assisted suicide Bill returns to Parliament tomorrow, Labour MP Juliet Campbell has tabled an amendment that would require the next of kin to be informed if an adult under the age of 25 has their application for an assisted death approved. Campbell’s amendment states “where the person to whom the referral relates is under the age of 25”, there is an obligation to inform the person’s “next of kin”.
With no requirement in the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to inform or involve family, there is nothing in the Bill to prevent assisted suicides taking place in secret in England should it become law.
Concerns around assisted suicide taking place in secret
Conservative MP Rebecca Paul, who is supporting the amendment, registered her concerns around the lack of reference to families in the Bill, saying “The current bill prioritises patient autonomy over everything else, and this can be seen in the absence of references to family and next of kin throughout the Bill”.
“Right now, the first a family may know about the assisted death of their loved one is when they get the call to collect the body. There will be mothers and fathers out there that will get this call about their child if this Bill goes through without improvements to the process and safeguards”.
She said the amendment “will at least help protect young people, especially those with learning disabilities, by ensuring their families are aware before the drugs are administered”.
“The family should be listened to”
The issue of family involvement was raised during the Bill’s Committee Stage discussions, when Danny Kruger MP tabled an amendment (418a) that would have required that the person seeking an assisted suicide sign a declaration saying they have or have not informed their family of their decision. It was not selected.
During the discussions, Rebecca Paul said “My point is that the family should be listened to and should have a route to legally provide information to the panel. Right now, they have no right to do that”.
Kruger warned that a lack of family involvement would result in “scandal”, saying “If we see cases where somebody dies by assisted suicide, and the first thing their child or parent knows about it is they are told to come and collect the body, that will be a scandal. That has happened in other countries”.
Danger of “complex trauma” after learning of secret assisted suicides
Labour MP Rachael Maskell also warned of the consequences of assisted suicides in England and Wales taking place in secret, without a person’s family knowing, saying “If someone is not willing to discuss their death with their family, then it should be explored as to why”.
“Learning that a family member has had an assisted suicide in other jurisdictions has proved to cause significant trauma for those remaining. In some cases they were not aware of this possibility and it has left people with complex trauma”.
An example of such an event came recently when a family was left devastated after a British mother, Anne, ended her life at a Swiss assisted suicide clinic without informing them.
Anne, whose surname has been withheld, told her family she was going on holiday to Switzerland from Wales, but actually went to Swiss assisted suicide clinic, Pegasos, near Basel, to end her life.
Anne’s brother and sister, John and Delia, were left devastated when they first heard of Anne’s death through “goodbye” letters that Anne had written before her death, in which she wrote “I am no longer here”.
Having heard nothing further, Delia contacted assisted suicide clinics in Switzerland. After contacting Pegasos, Delia received an auto-reply, then, after further appeals, Delia eventually heard from Pegasos, who said “Anne has chosen to die”.
“All official papers and her urn will be sent to her brother John”.
Anne’s brother John expressed his frustration at the lack of communication from Pegasos regarding Anne’s death, calling their actions “evil”. He said “Why do they possibly think they have the right to do these things without contacting her family? It just seems evil to me… not to give us a chance to speak to her”.
Delia added “It’s absolutely devastated the family. It has destroyed us”.
Nikki da Costa, former Director of Legislative Affairs at 10 Downing Street, warned that a similar situation could arise under the Leadbeater Bill, saying “This is just like Kim [Leadbeater]’s Bill. NO mechanism for family to be told nor raise concerns either before the person’s life is ended or afterwards. Imagine being the parent of a terminally ill 18 year old and finding out afterwards your child chose this to relieve the burden on you?”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “The chilling reality is there is currently nothing in this terrible Bill to prevent assisted suicides taking place in secret”.
“Concerned family members should not be left in the dark. As Rachael Maskell correctly identifies, the effects of discovering an assisted suicide has taken place in secret can be very traumatic and this must be avoided”.
“It is a further reason why this dangerous Bill has been dismissed as ‘unworkable, unaffordable and naive’ and, as a major editorial in The Times said, it ‘must now be killed off’”.
