Assisted Suicide Bill

Created: 11/30/2024

The Moral Dilemma

Should a person be allowed to decide whether to live or die? It is a question that has been at the forefront of a lot of people's mind recently, with the introduction of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The Bill seeks to introduce legislation to, "Allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life..."

Matters of life and death are very personal issues and death is still a taboo subject here in the UK. It is sometimes unfathomable to comprehend that our loved ones, our parent, our children, our friends and one day, us, will no longer be alive. In one form or another, death will affect us all sooner or later. How we die has been a hot topic of conversation for a very long time; perhaps since the existence of life. People often hold very strong views about how much society or the law should interfere with matters of life and death. Therefore, the introduction of a Bill that will, if it passes through the necessary stages become an Act of Parliament and permit the lawful assistance from medical professionals for a person to bring their life to an end, cause a great deal of discussion.

Will Assisted Suicide Become Law

Currently, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has reached the committee stage in the House of Commons, where the Bill started its journey. The Bill has progressed through the 1st and 2nd reading stages, and it was at the 2nd reading stage when MPs voted in favour of the Bill continuing its passage through the House of Commons. During the committee stage, a detailed examination of each line of the Bill will take place. The committee will be able to hear evidence from experts and interest groups (of which I suspect their will be many interest groups) and consider amendments proposed by MPs.

How Does the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Affect Social Workers?

“Remember that death is a social event with a medical component, not a medical event with a social component. The larger part of dying happens outside of the institution and professional care”, said Allan Kellehear, a medical and public health sociologist. I could not agree more with Alex Ruck Keene, a lawyer specialising in the mental capacity. He notes that this Bill will turn the social event of death on its head to become (in relation to this Bill) a medical event with a social component.

The proposed process to end ones life is detailed in the Bill. It involves a first declaration by the person, an assessment by the coordinating doctor, a second assessment by an independent doctor, an application to the High Court, and a second declaration by the person before the medication can be made available.

The proposed process would take a matter of weeks with periods of reflection built in. Therefore, there may be instances during that time where Social Workers are involved in a person's (or their family's) lives. If a person decides to continue with the process, their may be a need for Social Work involvement in the lives of the family after the even, particularly where children or vulnerable adults are involved.

Finally there is every likelihood that Social Workers will be a key component in the process itself. One consideration for consulting doctors and independent doctors is that of mental capacity. Both have to declare that the person has the mental capacity to make the decision, free from coercion or pressure from others. There will, I suspect, be occasions whereby a consulting or independent doctor will require the services of an expert mental capacity assessor to make a determination as to whether the person has the mental capacity to end their own life using the framework within the Mental Capacity Act 2005.