In the coming days this issue will return to Parliament as Baroness Meacher seeks to bring forward legislation which will allow assisted dying.
Or, in the words of some opponents of the Bill, it will enable state-approved euthanasia.
Previous attempts at changing legislation have argued that such a move would offer empowerment to the dying and increase choice for those with life limiting conditions on how to end their lives.
But the impact of enabling such choice has consequences which we have seen elsewhere in countries which have already gone down this road. In Belgium and the Netherlands, where assisted dying laws were passed under the banner of enabling choice for those with terminal conditions, assisted deaths are now legal on the basis of mental illness, learning disability and autism. Is it any wonder that of the 12 organisations representing disabled people in the UK none of them supports an Assisted Dying Bill?
My piece for @TheNorthernEcho ahead of Friday's debate in the House of Lords.
We should assist people to live – not to die https://t.co/wy7UDHAqpm— Arun Arora (@RevArun) October 20, 2021