Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he plans to vote against the upcoming assisted dying Bill out of concern for the state of palliative care in the UK.
The bill, presented by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater earlier this month, would allow terminally ill adults to request assistance to end their own life.
Keir Starmer’s government is staying neutral on the Bill, with ministers allowed to vote however they please when the Commons decides whether to give it a second reading on November 29.
Last week, it was reported that Streeting had told colleagues he would be voting against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
He explained that stance on Good Morning Britain today, saying: ‘I worry about palliative care, end-of-life care, not being good enough to give people a real choice.’
The Ilford North MP said he was also concerned about ‘people being coerced into taking this route towards the end of their life’.
He added: ‘I also worry, even where you’ve got really loving families who are very supportive, I really worry about those people who think they’ve almost got a duty to die, to relieve the burden on their loved ones.’
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also said she will vote against the Bill, due to her ‘unshakeable belief in the sanctity and the value of human life’.
Asked last week if it was significant that both ministers are against a measure with significant implications for both health and justice, a Downing Street spokesperson said: ‘This is a complex issue with strongly held views on all sides of the debate, it is right that members can debate this freely.
‘It will be a free vote and the government will respect the will of parliament.
They added: ‘We’re not going to preempt the debate or seek to influence it with the government position.’
Other government ministers, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, have declared their support for the Bill.
Miliband was the first figure from the cabinet to come out in favour of the measure, saying: ‘I think people having control over their own life and their own death is something that is the right thing to do.
‘Obviously there have to be proper safeguards and I understand the concerns of some people on these issues, but my personal view will to be vote in favour of this Bill.’
The last time the issue was raised in Parliament was 2015, when Labour MP Rob Marris introduced an Assisted Dying Bill.
It was rejected by MPs by 330 votes to 118.
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