{"id":19350,"date":"2024-11-28T00:46:25","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T00:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19350"},"modified":"2024-11-28T00:46:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T00:46:25","slug":"david-cameron-backs-assisted-dying-bill-in-shock-u-turn-by-former-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19350","title":{"rendered":"David Cameron backs assisted dying bill in shock U-turn by former prime minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"main\">\n<div data-testid=\"nsc-wrapper-support-us\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root\" data-component=\"SupportNSCNative\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-0 jBfdop\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-1 hKRbzg\">\n<h3 data-testid=\"support-nsc-title\" class=\"sc-hez36s-2 cKIkhp\">Your support helps us to tell the story<\/h3>\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-8 dWUzhG\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-13 doTReP\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-12 iGXncB\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"support-nsc-collapsed-content\" class=\"sc-hez36s-7 hKrnEq\">\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 hlPMMm\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 hlPMMm\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 hlPMMm\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 euTVax\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><button class=\"sc-hez36s-4 bErStG sc-hez36s-14 ggPDxB\"><span data-testid=\"support-nsc-dropdown-mobile-open\" class=\"sc-hez36s-6 jWuFRk\"><span class=\"sc-hez36s-5 vaVnf\">Close<\/span><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 kMSyUM sc-culv3z-0 jIhHch sc-a5wy94-0 jhbxrS\"><use href=\"#ee6613da15642019\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"sc-hez36s-4 bErStG sc-hez36s-15 gibhIT\"><span data-testid=\"support-nsc-dropdown-tablet\" class=\"sc-hez36s-6 jWuFRk\"><span class=\"sc-hez36s-5 vaVnf\">Read more<\/span><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 kMSyUM sc-culv3z-0 jIhHch sc-a5wy94-0 jhbxrS\"><use href=\"#ee6613da15642019\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former prime minister Lord <a href=\"\/topic\/david-cameron\">David Cameron<\/a> has backed the move to legalise <a href=\"\/topic\/assisted-dying\">assisted dying<\/a> for terminally-ill adults after previously opposing the legislation. <\/p>\n<p>The<a href=\"\/news\/uk\/politics\/assisted-dying-mahmood-falconer-maskell-b2653066.html\">\u00a0Private Member\u2019s Bill<\/a>\u00a0is due for its second reading in the\u00a0<a href=\"\/topic\/house-of-commons-0\">House of Commons<\/a>\u00a0on Friday, in the\u00a0<a href=\"\/voices\/assisted-dying-mps-vote-friday-baroness-campbell-b2653147.html\">first debate and vote<\/a>\u00a0of its kind in the House since 2015.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/news\/uk\/politics\/assisted-dying-parliament-vote-labour-b2653999.html\">MPs will be given a free vote on the issue<\/a>, allowing them to decide according to their conscience rather than in line with party policy.<\/p>\n<p>The Bill, which covers England and Wales, says that only terminally ill adults with less than six months left to live and a settled wish to die would be eligible.<\/p>\n<p>Writing about the assisted dying bill in <em>The Times<\/em>, Lord Cameron said: \u201cAs campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life, it is about shortening death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Previously his main concern had been that \u201cvulnerable people could be pressured into hastening their own deaths\u201d, but he said he believed the current proposal contained \u201csufficient safeguards\u201d to prevent this.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-482ou5-2 eOHevC image align-none\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cpcmmN\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-482ou5-0 kUIrYV\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/10\/15\/08\/942a836da0f5c0c1b6e04477237071a5Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI5MDYyMzcz-2.76165039.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/10\/15\/08\/942a836da0f5c0c1b6e04477237071a5Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI5MDYyMzcz-2.76165039.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/10\/15\/08\/942a836da0f5c0c1b6e04477237071a5Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI5MDYyMzcz-2.76165039.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Lord David Cameron has backed the move to legalise assisted dying for terminally-ill adults\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 iSVhwZ inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-ohzviw-0 gdZNrl inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-41023\"><span class=\"sc-ohzviw-1 ewSUe\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 hiCdLa liXvvg\">Lord David Cameron has backed the move to legalise assisted dying for terminally-ill adults<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 izyooE\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lord\u00a0Cameron\u00a0\u2013 who opposed previous moves to legalise assisted dying \u2013 added: \u201cWill this law lead to a meaningful reduction in human suffering?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI find it very hard to argue that the answer to this question is anything other than \u2018yes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cIf this Bill makes it to the House of Lords, I will be voting for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It comes as the Labour MP behind the motion, Kim Leadbeater, insisted the Bill is taking \u201cabsolutely the right route\u201d through Parliament after it was criticised as an \u201cutterly inadequate\u201d way to deal with the controversial issue.<\/p>\n<p>She defended the level of scrutiny her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will get after a group of MPs mounted a bid to halt the plans going through the Commons.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-482ou5-2 eOHevC image align-none\">\n<figure class=\"sc-1cbdeug-0 cpcmmN\">\n<div data-gallery-length=\"3\" class=\"sc-482ou5-0 fohpiB\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/11\/27\/09\/371e960cdf1fa9945e0cca25b48b37b6Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMyNzg1MjEz-2.78179082.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/11\/27\/09\/371e960cdf1fa9945e0cca25b48b37b6Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMyNzg1MjEz-2.78179082.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=320&amp;auto=webp 320w, https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2024\/11\/27\/09\/371e960cdf1fa9945e0cca25b48b37b6Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMyNzg1MjEz-2.78179082.jpg?quality=75&amp;width=640&amp;auto=webp 640w\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Labour MP Kim Leadbeater says her assisted dying Bill was taking the right route through Parliament in bringing in discussion and scrutiny\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 iSVhwZ inline-gallery-btn\"\/><\/p>\n<p><button class=\"sc-ohzviw-0 gdZNrl inline-gallery-btn\" id=\"trigger-autogallery-41024\"><span class=\"sc-ohzviw-1 ewSUe\">open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"sc-1cbdeug-1 sc-1cbdeug-3 hiCdLa liXvvg\">Labour MP Kim Leadbeater says her assisted dying Bill was taking the right route through Parliament in bringing in discussion and scrutiny<span class=\"sc-1cbdeug-7 izyooE\"> <!-- -->(<!-- -->PA Wire<!-- -->)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ms Leadbeater said the debate on assisted dying generally \u201chas been going on for decades\u201d, and she believes \u201cthis Bill will receive more scrutiny and more discussion and more debate, probably, than any piece of legislation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, former prime ministers Gordon Brown, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Baroness Theresa May have come out against the bill. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/voices\/assisted-dying-vote-mps-liam-fox-nhs-b2654536.html\">Writing for\u00a0<em>The Independent,<\/em><\/a> Dr Liam Fox, former shadow health secretary and a practising doctor, also voiced his opposition to the bill warning that it could turn the\u00a0<a href=\"\/news\/uk\/politics\/smoking-ban-rishi-sunak-vote-b2654507.html\">National Health Service<\/a>\u00a0into \u201ca national death service\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Wednesday, former president of the supreme court, David Neuberger, declared his support for the law change, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2024\/nov\/27\/ex-supreme-court-president-backs-assisted-dying-law-change\">according to the Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say which way he will vote, adding that he does not want to pressure other MPs.<\/p>\n<p>The Cabinet is split over the issue, with more members believed to be in favour than against.<\/p>\n<p>Culture secretary Lisa Nandy, work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall, Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn, transport secretary Louise Haigh and energy secretary Ed Miliband have all said they will back the law.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, health secretary Wes Streeting, education secretary Bridget Phillipson and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds have said they will reject the legislation.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samaritans.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CSusanna.Richards%40independent.co.uk%7C49c142329de24ca5d5ce08dc5491dee2%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638478232716712358%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Gbp5C379jYmfTlYtB41DeGZCQgU9Zhfoj6HjrrFhHWw%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><em>Samaritans<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0website to find details of your nearest branch.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2F988lifeline.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CSusanna.Richards%40independent.co.uk%7C49c142329de24ca5d5ce08dc5491dee2%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638478232716724219%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=AoXf1cVPaMt%2F%2B%2B3haEpqWmHR5DrYyR%2FEcQZUos4KPak%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><em>988lifeline.org<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.befrienders.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CSusanna.Richards%40independent.co.uk%7C49c142329de24ca5d5ce08dc5491dee2%7C0f3a4c644dc54a768d4152d85ca158a5%7C0%7C0%7C638478232716731783%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vm5NAWd9YUjYxmyyrs0cx%2F1UNvQrP8qBT62pDNeLA6o%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><em>www.befrienders.org<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0to find a helpline near you.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-top: 2px solid #ccc; margin-top: 20px;\">\n<p><em>Source: <\/em> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/politics.einnews.com\/article\/764410078\/JRp4sMV7DqHrRGBC?ref=rss&amp;ecode=kmfm9fDbRbj4OPCJ\">politics.einnews.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}