‘Replacing judge with experts will not move assisted dying behind closed doors’ Replacing a High Court judge’s oversight of the assisted dying Bill with an expert panel will not send the process behind closed doors, the MP leading the law change has insisted.
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.
Ms Leadbeater denied this would be the case, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It wouldn’t be done in private, it would be taking into account patient confidentiality, but there would be public proceedings.
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, is expected to bring forward amendments for a so-called “judge plus” system, after hearing concerns during expert evidence sessions last month.
She has now proposed a judge-led Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission that she said would give a greater role to experts, including psychiatrists and social workers, in overseeing applications.
