Hopes that Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide bill will be defeated were bolstered this week with news that at least two more MPs have publicly said they will not be supporting it.
The bill passed second reading by 55 votes, however a number of MPs who previously voted for it have indicated that they did so to keep the debate going and that they are now considering their position. Others have outright said they will now be voting against the bill.
The latest is Liberal Democrat MP Brian Mathew, who said he felt the bill poses a risk to vulnerable people approaching the end of their lives.
Although he voted in favour of the bill at second reading, Mathew recently said in an email to his Melksham and Devizes constituency, “I share the concerns of many constituents that individuals facing terminal illness will take the decision based on concerns that they have become a burden upon their family. This is a serious concern for me; I worry that in someone’s final days, this question will loom heavy when it does not need to."
Although Mathew conceded that those on the other side of the issue had made “eloquent and challenging” speeches, in the end he felt that they had failed to adequately address the concerns of those opposed to the bill.
Such concerns also include the possibility that family members may coerce relatives into choosing suicide and that eligibility for assisted suicide will only become wider, rather than narrower, should the bill be passed.
Last week another Liberal Democrat MP said he would also be changing his vote. Steve Darling said that he was “marginally against” the bill, and that he would either abstain or vote against the bill.
According to CARE, eight MPs who abstained or voted for the bill at second reading have now said they will be voting against the bill.
However, it has also been noted that two former abstainers now look likely to vote for the bill. The recent Runcorn by-election also saw the removal of a negative vote from a Labour MP and its replacement with a pro-assisted suicide Reform UK MP.
Further amendments to the bill will be considered on 13 June.
