Former Prime Minister David Cameron has become the first former prime minister to declare his support for proposed assisted dying legislation
In an interview with the Times, Cameron said: “As campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life, it is about shortening death.”
He added: “My main concern and reason for not supporting proposals before now has always been the worry that vulnerable people could be pressured into hastening their own deaths.”
However, he says he has now been reassured by those arguing in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and stated he will vote for it if it reaches the House of Lords.
“Will this law lead to a meaningful reduction in human suffering? I find it very hard to argue that the answer to this question is anything other than ‘yes’,” he said.
His views are at odds with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who told the Guardian last week that: “we need not assisted dying, but better end-of-life care.” He said the death of his newborn daughter in January 2002 convinced him of the “value and imperative of good end-of-life care”.
Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have also indicated that they are opposed it. Both Tony Blair and Rishi Sunak have not yet expressed a view.
Meanwhile, David Neuberger, the former president of the supreme court, who previously ruled on high-profile assisted dying cases has declared his support for the law change, the Guardian reports.
“The fundamental aims of the law [is] to respect people’s right of personal autonomy, and to protect the vulnerable,” he said.
In her letter to all 650 MPs, broadcaster Esther Rantzen, who has terminal lung cancer, has urged them to listen to Friday’s debate and to vote, whatever their view. “This is such a vital life-and-death issue, one that we the public care desperately about, so it is only right that as many MPs as possible listen to the arguments for and against and make up your own minds, according to your own conscience, your personal thoughts and feelings.”
She adds: “This bill will never apply to me as I have stage 4 lung cancer and my time is running out. But I am fortunate to have the choice of an assisted death in Dignitas in Switzerland.”
MPs will vote on the Bill, put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, tomorrow.
