I was always wavering on the Assisted Dying which has just passed through the House of Commons, mainly because it was open to exploitation but it has been toughened up to make it harder to access.
The assisted dying debate was last heard in the Commons in 2015, when it was defeated by 330 votes to 118 but this time it passed with 314 votes for and 291 against, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who will have to deliver the bill, voting against.
The amended bill will now allow terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist and exclude anyone trying to join the program on grounds of Mental Health or Anorexia and will not be started until 2029, giving more time for it to be pored over.
Campaign group Dignity in Dying hailed the result as: 'A landmark moment for choice, compassion and dignity at the end of life' and i get all that but still i am not wholeheartedly behind it although a recent poll showed 70% of people support assisted dying but the opposition has come from the Medical Profession who were challenging it up til the very last moment.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists, the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Physicians raised concerns about the bill and it is one of those emotive subjects where i can see both sides but if the professionals are against it, then the 49% for and 51% against debate i have internally over it remains.