The Law Society Gazette quotes Tamasin Perkins on the assisted dying bill
min readA bill that would legalise assisted dying in the UK will continue its journey through parliament after MPs voted, by a majority of 55, in favour of it.
Following the second reading in the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will move to committee stage, where the proposed legislation will be scrutinised more closely.
The bill allows adults who are expected to die within six months, to be assisted to die. The adult must have mental capacity and express a clear, settled and informed wish to end their life, free from coercion or pressure.
Tamasin Perkins, Private Wealth Disputes Partner, comments on the bill:
Across the industry, there are concerns around how capacity will be assessed and with medical professionals making an assessment about legal issues such as pressure and coercion.
"We already see many cases of coercion and undue pressure in the context of financial decision-making, such as writing wills or making gifts, so it’s not unreasonable to anticipate that this kind of coercion would go hand in hand with assisted dying.
"The real challenge could lie in detecting coercion during a single interaction, when coercion can manifest itself in small and subtle ways, and the complexity of family dynamics can make this difficult to identify. From a medical perspective, susceptibility to coercion is frequently associated with diminished capacity, as individuals become more vulnerable and easily influenced under these circumstances.
"We must also ask if the court can manage what will end up being very urgent applications about these decisions, when the Court of Protection is already overburdened, as the worst-case scenario would be delays leading to the wrong decision.
Read the full piece in The Law Society Gazette here.
