Social change is often slow. However, there are moments in our history when society takes a giant leap; the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the birth of the NHS and the welfare state. These are all key moments which have shaped our society and our view of ourselves as a nation.
They have also shaped how we view our fellow human beings, moulding our regard for others and the value we place an individual’s rights to certain freedoms, equalities and quality of life.
The same day that this newspaper is published, our Members of Parliament will debate and vote on The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25, also known as the Assisted Dying Bill.
I am glad we are having this debate and I am grateful to those constituents who have taken the time to write to me, sharing their thoughts and feelings on the matter, as well as asking me my views. It is good that we as a nation are talking about death, how we wish to approach it and how we view a good death.
The vote in Parliament will be a matter of conscience. Party politics will play no part in it. Every MP who is eligible to vote, will be free to vote according to their own conviction. The last time assisted dying was debated in Parliament in 2015, the overwhelming majority, including our own MP, voted against the bill. As Deputy Speaker, this time our MP will be unable to debate or vote.
Nine years later and a recent YouGov poll shows that 73% of Britons support assisted dying under the terms of the Bill. Interestingly, polls in 2015 showed similar levels of public support for the principle of assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent people.
Many in the country are now weighing the arguments for and against assisted dying seriously, sensitively, and respectfully. I have previously spoken publicly in favour of assisted dying, so long as the right controls and balances are in place. As a liberal, I believe in choice.
Some argue that with better palliative care we can remove the need for assisted dying. I agree that we should improve palliative care, but I do not see them as mutually exclusive. I think that the choice should still be there for those who wish to make it for themselves.
We all want to ease suffering, that is our motivation for engaging in this debate. Ultimately, I ask what would I want for myself or my loved ones? The answer to the question is simply to not suffer and to have the choice available.
The debate we have now has the potential to be another one of those ‘moments’ in our history. If passed, this bill will mark the first time that we as a society place the same emphasis on how we value an individual’s rights in death, as we do in life. These are the moments that shape us as a society. Parliament has a chance to make a choice in life today, to grant choice in death tomorrow. I hope they take it.
Geoff Cooper
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Romsey and Southampton North
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