Wes Streeting may have accidentally helped disability rights campaigners after his outbursts about the new Assisted Dying Bill prompted the response that ‘Help to die should not be easier to receive than help to live’.
The Health Secretary [pictured] has publicly objected to the Bill, most recently supporting his position by stating that other health services will suffer if his department has to reorganise its funding system to accommodate assisted dying.
The BBC has quoted his response to Times Radio about funding, as follows:
“If Parliament chooses to go ahead with assisted dying, it is making a choice that this is an area to prioritise for investment.”
It is the possibility that assisted dying will be prioritised that has incensed other interested parties – such as Disability Rights UK, whose spokesperson said, “Assistance to die should not be easier to access than assistance to live.”
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Here‘s the full statement:
Our focus as a society should be to ensure that all citizens live well. This is not the case at present. Disabled people and those with health conditions find ourselves battling to get NHS treatments, receiving inadequate care and support and having limited access to palliative care.
The UK Government has been found guilty of ‘grave and systematic’ violations of disabled people’s rights by the United Nations. This includes an increase in the reliance on institutionalisation, limiting our access to basic necessities, and dehumanising us as ‘economic burdens’ on society.
The COVID-19 pandemic vividly demonstrated the fragility of our rights in the UK as blanket Do Not Attempt Resuscitation notices were used, and our access to critical care was denied. 60% of COVID deaths were those of disabled people.
Assistance to die should not be easier to access than assistance to live. Parliament and Government should not allow assisted dying when political choices undermine our lives, and rights, every day.
We recognise this is an issue many feel strongly about, and not everybody (including some disabled people) will agree with our position.
However, until access to good quality support and services become the norm, we believe that opting for assisted dying may not be a real choice, and the proposed change in the law poses a danger to disabled people.
The claim – and it is accurate – is that legalising assitance to die will show that the UK’s government prioritises killing disabled people above helping them to live to a decent standard, to a degree that makes it extremely difficult for them to survive.
And while this is a hugely compelling argument against the Bill, it isn’t even the only one. The following are just what This Writer found while trawling X a few days ago:
The Bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their life if two doctors and a High Court judge verify they are eligible and have made their decision voluntarily.
Critics of her measure have raised fears of coercion – despite the Bill saying it should be punishable by 14 months in prison – and a slippery slope to wider legislation taking in more people.
MPs are scheduled to debate and then take part in a free vote – according to their conscience rather than being whipped to support a party line – on the bill on November 29.
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‘Help to die should not be easier to receive than help to live’
Wes Streeting may have accidentally helped disability rights campaigners after his outbursts about the new Assisted Dying Bill prompted the response that ‘Help to die should not be easier to receive than help to live’.
The Health Secretary [pictured] has publicly objected to the Bill, most recently supporting his position by stating that other health services will suffer if his department has to reorganise its funding system to accommodate assisted dying.
The BBC has quoted his response to Times Radio about funding, as follows:
It is the possibility that assisted dying will be prioritised that has incensed other interested parties – such as Disability Rights UK, whose spokesperson said, “Assistance to die should not be easier to access than assistance to live.”
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Here‘s the full statement:
The claim – and it is accurate – is that legalising assitance to die will show that the UK’s government prioritises killing disabled people above helping them to live to a decent standard, to a degree that makes it extremely difficult for them to survive.
And while this is a hugely compelling argument against the Bill, it isn’t even the only one. The following are just what This Writer found while trawling X a few days ago:
The Bill, introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to seek help to end their life if two doctors and a High Court judge verify they are eligible and have made their decision voluntarily.
Critics of her measure have raised fears of coercion – despite the Bill saying it should be punishable by 14 months in prison – and a slippery slope to wider legislation taking in more people.
MPs are scheduled to debate and then take part in a free vote – according to their conscience rather than being whipped to support a party line – on the bill on November 29.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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