Assisted dying Bill scrutiny ‘chaotic’, say Labour opponents Labour opponents of the assisted dying Bill have said scrutiny of the legislation “feels chaotic” following the announcement of a major change to the proposals before Parliament.
Kim Leadbeater, who has sponsored the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, has announced she will bring forward amendments that would replace a High Court judge’s oversight of the process with an expert panel including psychiatrists and social workers.
But in a statement on Tuesday evening, 10 of her Labour colleagues said the “promise of High Court scrutiny of each application for assisted dying” had been a central part of Ms Leadbeater’s pitch to MPs at the end of last year.
Sean Woodcock, another Labour opponent of the change, said the involvement of a High Court judge had been a “central plank” of the Bill and expert evidence had been based on that system.
The commission would be led by a High Court judge or a former senior judge and receive all applications and reports from two independent doctors, which would then be referred to a three-member panel chaired by what has been described as a senior legal figure.
