ANDOVER'S MP Kit Malthouse has criticised a “small number of unelected peers” after an assisted dying bill was blocked in the House of Lords.
The proposed legislation, which aimed to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people in the UK, has run out of time in the upper chamber.
If passed, the bill would have allowed those with a terminal diagnosis and a prognosis of six months or less to choose assisted dying, subject to strict safeguards. These included full mental capacity and oversight from both legal and medical professionals.
Supporters said the bill contained some of the toughest protections in the world, bringing the UK in line with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, Austria, and parts of the United States.
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Kit Malthouse MP, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the legislation had been derailed despite its safeguards.
He said: “We had a chance to legalise assisted dying for those living with terminal illnesses — but the bill has been taken out by a small number of unelected peers who opposed it.
“This is despite it having some of the toughest safeguards anywhere in the world. It’s a disgrace and an abuse of Parliament.
“But this issue is not going away and we will bring it back in the next parliamentary session, and the next, and the next, until it is done.
“We will not go away because the agony and degradation of so many with terminal illnesses will not go away.”
The issue of assisted dying remains highly debated, with campaigners on both sides expected to continue pushing for change in future parliamentary sessions.
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