Issue Type
National Policy
Issue
Health and Social Care
Date
28 November 2024
Tomorrow I will vote against The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced as a Private Members’ Bill by Kim Leadbeater MP.
Over the last month, I have heard from residents within my constituency who have carefully expressed their views on such a personal, sensitive and emotional issue. I want to assure you that as an NHS cancer pharmacist who has worked with those at the end of their life, this decision is not one I took lightly. I have considered the ethical, social and practical implications of this legislation.
Fundamentally, I do not think that our healthcare system in the UK is ready for the introduction of this legislation. I believe that it will place not only an administrative and practical burden on our medical and healthcare professionals, but also an ethical one. Our medical professionals are already under a lot of pressure, and I am concerned that sufficient time will not be given to deciding which patients qualify for an assisted death.
People at the end of their life deserve to live with dignity and without terrible pain. I am concerned that the introduction of assisted dying will divert attention away from the improvements that mental health services and palliative care in this country desperately need. There is still no agreed mechanism for funding palliative care in the UK – much of it is provided by hospices based in the voluntary sector. Before introducing assisted dying legislation, which will put more financial pressure on our healthcare system, the priority should be to ensure funding is available so that every individual coming to the end of their life receives the comprehensive care and support they need.
My decision was also influenced by my research into foreign healthcare systems that have introduced assisted dying. In early 2023, as part of the Health and Social Care Committee, I went to the United States to research assisted dying in Portland, Oregon. In Oregon, it has been legal for terminally ill, mentally competent adults to have an assisted death since 1997. However, as a pharmacist, I found the lack of information available around the medication used for assisted dying and the lack of safeguarding around medication disposal deeply unsettling.
Finally, I have concerns about the way in which the implementation of this legislation could affect the most vulnerable people in the UK – including the elderly, those living with disabilities or mental illnesses, and those from lower economic backgrounds. These people deserve to know they will have access to the care and treatment they need to live well, rather than feel that assisted dying is their best option
I believe that until we address these challenges and engage in a wider dialogue about the quality of end-of-life care in the UK, assisted dying should not be introduced.
Yours sincerely,
Taiwo Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West.
