There is little choice in the assisted dying bill for those without agency
4 min read
There can be no choice or autonomy for those without power and agency over their own lives.
I am an ex-Catholic, pro-choice, gay woman. When it comes to assisted dying, I should find it easier than most to back the current assisted dying bill. But I cannot back a bad law that would leave the most vulnerable in our society exposed to the risks embedded in this bill.
The debate around assisted dying is often framed around choice, but there is little choice or autonomy in this bill for those without power and agency over their own lives. And I know that if this bill does pass, the vulnerable, the old, the marginalised, the disabled and many more voiceless groups will lose the dignity, choice and autonomy over how their lives end.
I started my political life campaigning for abortion rights. My belief in bodily autonomy is a founding principle of my politics and runs through so many of the issues I care about and campaign and legislate on. And in a perfect world, I would absolutely vote for that bodily autonomy for people facing the prospect of a painful or prolonged death and would be in favour of assisted dying in principle.
I am also a strong believer in the transformative power of good palliative care and know through personal experience the difference that such care provides for exactly the kind of autonomy and dignity that many advocates for this legislation talk about.
It is distressing that so much of the recent focus in our political debate has been on how to hasten the end of life rather than improving it. I would much rather that I and our political class had had the opportunity to invest nearly as much time and thought into extending and entrenching decent palliative care across this country instead of focusing on this flawed legislation.
If faced with the prospect of a painful and prolonged terminal illness, I would want a dignified and peaceful death for myself and for those I love and care for. I get it. But as an MP, I was not sent to Parliament to only vote for those with control over their lives, those who can make a free and informed choice.
It is the responsibility of all of us as elected representatives to consider the risks for those who do not have a voice. People like those with learning disabilities who had Do Not Resuscitate notices placed on them during Covid. People in abusive relationships who are ground down through years of manipulation into believing they aren’t worth keeping alive. Those who are convinced they have become a financial burden to their family, while we still struggle as a country to solve the entrenched challenge of delivering a fair and equitable social care system.
Many MPs have tried to stand up for these marginalised groups through the committee and report stages of the assisted dying bill, working with organisations like Mencap and STADA to try to amend the bill to protect the disabled or victims of domestic abuse. But despite their work and dedication, their amendments and improvements to the Bill have been dismissed and voted down by the bill's supporters.
I joined the Labour Party to fight for those relentlessly silenced and marginalised in our society. As much as we would all wish we all lived in an equal and fair society, this is not the case, and we all must recognise that our country still has deep and troubling inequalities.
It is hard to understand and appreciate the profound impacts of these inequalities when they don’t impact you, when no one ignores, silences or overrides your wishes.
But while those inequalities persist, we must always legislate and govern in a way that acknowledges that the agency over our own lives we experience is not shared by everyone in this country.
There can be no choice or autonomy for those without power and agency over their own lives. And if we do pass this bill, we risk entrenching inequality and the oppression of some in our society, so that others can benefit from the autonomy to choose, extending inequity in healthcare choices into the experience of dying.
If this happens, I know it will be the vulnerable old, disabled and abused who will suffer the most, and that is not a choice that I, as a Labour MP, can in good conscience make.
Polly Billington is the Labour MP for East Thanet
