MEMBERS of Parliament will be debating the assisted dying bill today (Friday).
If passed, The Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill would enable doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of drugs to patients in England and Wales who have been diagnosed as having less than six months to live.
Droitwich MP Nigel Huddleston will be unable to vote on the issue, due to constituency diary commitments.
But, he said, he would be paying close attention to the debate, adding, it was important to note that if the bill passed its second reading, there would still be time for more debate for it.
“I am well aware that this very sensitive issue raises many ethical and religious concerns and that feelings are strong on both sides of the argument.
“Suicide, assisting or encouraging suicide, assisted dying and euthanasia are all subjects on which it is entirely possible for people to hold widely different but defensible opinions, this has been highlighted to me in the range of opinions expressed in the correspondence I have received in recent weeks.”
He added he was sympathetic to views on both sides and on balance feels reluctant to change the status quo.
“It is my feeling that the current somewhat grey, middle of the road situation where assisted suicide is neither legal nor aggressively pursued if conducted legally overseas is probably the ‘least worst’ of all the alternatives at the moment.”
* What do you think? Should terminally ill patients have the right to die? E-mail [email protected] and let us know your views.
