Kim Leadbetter’s Bill has passed through the House of Commons and will now be debated in the House of Lords. The first such debate will be on Tuesday 7th September.
In theory, the Bill could face total defeat in the House of Lords. That is unlikely but some further amendments should be expected. These are likely to add to the “safeguards” to prevent the coercion of elderly people, against their real wishes, into an assisted death. The Bill is already criticised, not least on this website, for including so many such safeguards as to make it almost unworkable in practice. If it can only be used by people who are within six months of dying naturally then they are likely to have died before all the complexities can have been satisfied.
After the debates in the House of Lords, the Bill will return to the Commons for a final vote, after which it will (unless defeated) receive the Royal Assent. It will then become operational in 2029 – yes, four years later.
The Assisted Voluntary Death providers in Switzerland are assuming that this Bill will make no difference to them. Last year there were approximately 650 AVDs in Switzerland for foreign visitors. Just over 100 were from Britain. The current total capacity of the three main providers is 850 and the usage is likely to have risen to that figure by the end of 2027. The number of British visitors will have risen slightly also.
