Davey: Assisted suicide would make people feel like a burden

Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey MP has expressed his concerns about assisted suicide, as pressure mounts for a fresh vote on the issue.

Speaking amid rumours of a Private Member's Bill being "fast-tracked" through parliament with government support, Davey said he is "skeptical".

He told Sky News: "My concerns are both quite personal. I asked my mother as a teenager when she was dying of bone cancer. And I saw someone with a very painful disease." He added, "by nursing and palliative care she was able to enjoy life and be with us as she wanted to be".

Going on to talk about the risks to vulnerable and elderly people, Davey noted “the pressure it could put on elderly people, not pressure necessarily coming from the relatives but from them inside, internally, which they may not express.”

“I think a situation where elderly people might think they are a burden and then proceed with this, that’s a huge worry,” the Lib Dems leader said.

At the weekend, the Mail on Sunday reported that Keir Starmer could pave the way for a vote on assisted suicide legislation within weeks.

Downing Street has said it would not obstruct a private member’s bill on the issue and would actively support an MP in drafting it.

Responding to the news on Monday, CARE's CEO Ross Hendry said:

"The idea of hastily drafting and rushing through any law is objectionable but on an issue of such gravity, it would be especially cynical and perilous. The proposal in question involves enabling doctors to participate in the suicides of their patients - something that is morally and practically dangerous. This is not a minor or uncontroversial change, as campaigners claim.

"As well as enabling more tragic suicides, an 'assisted dying' law would fundamentally change the relationship between doctors and their patients, lead to negative judgments about the value of some lives, and see people feeling pressure to end their lives because they feel like a burden, or because they lack sufficient support. This would not be conducive to human flourishing."