The Assisted Dying Bill has finally been pronounced dead, as it has run out of time to become law.
17 months after it was rushed through in the House of Commons, the horrendous bill, which could usher in euthanisation for disabled people, has failed in the Lords.
The Bill has been a farce from start to finish, something rushed through parliament because Keir Starmer made a promise to dying TV personality Esther Rantzen. The bill was spearheaded by MP Kim Leadbeater, who at every turn silenced opposition and painted them as anti-choice. When in fact, for the most part, they were disabled people terrified for their community.
Leadbeater making an arse of herself and the Assisted Dying Bill
In light of the Assisted Dying Bill failing, Leadbeater made a bizarre statement:
It is a choice, it’s a bit like gay marriage isn’t it? Marry who you want to marry, love who you want to love. It’s nothing to do with anybody else
Gay marriage isn’t a choice, it’s a right. Much like the way disabled people have the right to not be forced to kill ourselves by a system that won’t support us and family who make us feel like burdens.
The bill had such a whistle-stop tour in the Commons that it was barely even fucking written before MPs were made to vote on it. This felt like a deliberate choice as it meant those opposed had less time to scrutinise the bill.
When it made it to the committee stage, they tried to exclude disabled campaigners fighting against it. The biggest red flag of the committee was when it excluded one of it own disabled members who opposed the Assisted Dying Bill. Due to Kim Leadbeater insisting the committee held long hours, Naz Shah was forced to leave a session early after her hearing aids ran out of battery. This again felt deliberate.
Lords criticised for doing their job
When it reached the Lord’s stage, so many people wanted to speak that the debate had to be spread out over two days. But despite two-thirds of the speakers being against the bill, it progressed to the committee stage. The committee was again corrupt as fuck, as it restricted evidence.
After that it was back to the Lords, where Charlie Falconer attempted to stop debate at every turn, whilst also digging himself an even bigger hole. Despite him being for the Assisted Dying Bill, Falconer exposed that pregnant women and poor people would be allowed assisted deaths.
The excuse for it being rushed through the Commons was that it would be scrutinised in the Lords, but when the Lords attempted to scrutinise it they were accused of filibustering and there was outrage
Opposition to Assisted Dying Bill painted as heartless, but that’s not true
At every turn, the ‘for’ side painted concerned disabled people as heartless bastards who wanted your nan to die in pain. As both a disabled person and someone who’s been there, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Nobody wants to see people forced to live their last days in pain, but assisted dying wouldn’t fix that. In fact, it would divert money from palliative care, which is already in a dire state.
It also doesn’t need saying just how much of a fucking state the Department of Work and Pensions is and how much they’re making disabled people feel like burdens. Something, by the way, the government said would be a cause for assisted dying.
Disabled and terminally ill people have been pitted against each other from the beginning, but it’s simply not true that we’re enemies. Everyone should have access to the care they need at the end of life, but throwing disabled people under the bus was never going to help that.
No dignity in dying until disabled people have dignity in life
In an ideal world, everyone should get a good death free from pain, but in a world that will assist disabled people to die before it assists them to live, this just isn’t possible.
It’s fucking fantastic news that the Assisted Dying Bill has failed today, but the fact that disabled voices were continuously silenced or shouted down throughout the whole debacle shows the horrendous fight we still have on our hands to be able to live with dignity.
Until then, there can never be a law which allows us to be killed off so easily.
Featured image via the Canary
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