Assisted dying laws are only as safe as their safeguards. Once the option exists, some people, particularly those who feel like a burden or who are subject to coercion from others, may feel they have to take it.
Research already suggests up to 34 people take their lives as a result of domestic abuse or linked to domestic abuse every week in the UK.
We know that doctors aren’t always able to spot domestic abuse, even where they have known the patient for many years, and this is especially true when it happens to older people.
Coercion can be direct pressure from an abuser, or may be as subtle as a person being made to feel guilty about the cost of their care, or delaying their children’s inheritance. These pressures are very hard to detect, and no doctor can reliably rule them out in a short conversation.
The Bill’s current safeguards, including the oversight of a panel that doesn’t have to call any witnesses except the doctors, are not designed to detect all forms of coercion. Experience from other countries shows that eligibility criteria tend to expand over time, and that vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected.
“I would rather stay on the side of caution… when it comes to domestic abuse, coercion, and the power imbalance in a relationship.”
— Naz Shah MP, Committee Stage · Right To Life