Assisted dying bill: MPs clash over role of doctors

MPs considering a bill to introduce assisted dying laws in England and Wales are at odds over whether doctors should be allowed to raise the option with a terminally ill patient or should have to wait for the patient to raise it first.

The disagreement emerged as the UK parliament debated the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a private member’s bill introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, which MPs supported by 330 to 275 votes last November.1

The bill, which would allow patients expected to live for six months or less to opt for assisted dying, has since gone through six months of scrutiny by a parliamentary committee. Significant changes have been …