Dame Esther Rantzen led a chorus of dismay after a long-awaited report by MPs on assisted dying produced no clear conclusions or proposals.
The inquiry, carried out by the Health and Social Care Committee, was set up to provide “a basis for discussion” about whether the law should be changed.
But the committee stopped short of calling a debate in the House of Commons, which would have allowed MPs to discuss their differences over existing legislation before taking a vote.
Instead, it recommended that the Government should consider how to respond if steps are taken to make assisted dying the law in some parts of the UK.
Although it is currently illegal here, several crown dependencies, including Jersey and the Isle of Man, have taken steps to legalize it.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Dame Esther Rantzen, 83, who was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer last year, led a chorus of dismay after a long-awaited report by MPs on assisted dying produced no clear conclusions or proposals.
It comes after broadcaster John Dimbleby said the UK law against medically assisted dying is “increasingly unbearable” following the death of his brother.
Meanwhile, the committee called on the Government to ensure universal access to palliative care for the terminally ill, having heard evidence of “irregular” end-of-life arrangements.
Dame Esther, who suffers from stage four lung cancer and has enrolled in the Dignitas nursing home in Switzerland, called the report “deeply disappointing.”
She said: ‘Many of us feel it is time for this country to catch up with best practice abroad and the only way to achieve this is through a proper debate in Parliament with a free vote at the end.
‘I am deeply disappointed that this report, which many of us have been waiting for, does not contain that recommendation.
‘I’m afraid in many ways it was a wasted opportunity.
“If they had said ‘we urgently need a parliamentary debate and a free vote’, that might have fit into my schedule, but it doesn’t.”
Dame Esther’s comments were echoed by campaigners for a change in the law, who warned potential MPs to “listen to the public mood”.
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: ‘Assisted dying will be a key issue for candidates standing in the general election.
‘The next generation of parliamentarians must listen to the public mood and finally break the deadlock on assisted dying.
‘If MPs draw a single conclusion from the mountains of evidence heard at this inquiry, it is that the current law on assisted dying is unsafe and woefully inadequate.
“Maintaining the status quo in the face of so much obvious and devastating harm, while assisted dying laws continue to operate safely abroad, is the most dangerous decision Westminster could make.”
Under law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, assisting suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. In Scotland there is no specific crime.
Meanwhile, supporters of relaxing the law on assisted suicide criticized the MPs’ report, saying it “failed” to reach a firm conclusion.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said: “At a time when we have seen how fragile our healthcare system is, how lack of funding puts pressure on services, access to specific treatments And when the UK’s astonishing palliative care movement faces a £100 million loss of funding crisis, MPs could have decided to firmly close the door on assisted suicide and euthanasia…
‘They failed.’
The investigation received more than 68,000 responses from the public, and more than 380 written tests were submitted, since its launch in December 2022.
The committee said: “The UK Government should consider how to respond to another jurisdiction in the UK, or Crown Dependencies, legislating to allow assisted dying/assisted suicide (AD/AS), and how it may affect Jurisdictions that do not allow it.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Your browser does not support iframes.
‘Following the recommendation of the Jersey Citizens’ Assembly, it appears increasingly likely that at least one jurisdiction between the UK and the Crown Dependencies will allow AD/AS in the near future and ministers should be actively involved in discussions about how to address divergence in legislation.
‘The Government must ensure universal coverage of palliative and end-of-life services, including palliative home care.
“It is important that everyone can choose what support they need at the end of their life and that, wherever possible, their advanced care plan is respected.” Number 10 has previously said that it would be up to Parliament whether or not to re-debate the legalization of assisted dying.
Rishi Sunak said earlier this month that a change to the law had to emerge from a free vote in Parliament, with the Government facilitating the outcome.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, who backed a change to the law in 2015, went further in December when he said a private members’ bill and a free vote “seem appropriate”.
The report said there was a “pressing need” for better mental health support for people with terminal illnesses and recommended that the government commission investigate the issue and report back to Parliament.
MPs said there should be a “national strategy for death literacy and support following a terminal diagnosis” to help healthcare professionals provide better support to a dying person and their loved ones.
Health and Social Care Committee chair Steve Brine said: “The inquiry into assisted dying and assisted suicide raised the most complex issues we as a committee have faced, with strong feelings and opinions in the evidence we heard.
‘We intend for the information and testimony we present today in our report to have a lasting legacy and, as we set out in the initial terms of reference, to be an important and useful resource for future debates on the topic. Of course, this could happen during this Parliament or after the next general election.’