A Christian Labour MP has said the assisted dying bill still needs further scrutiny, as over 100 Labour MPs have issued a letter to the Prime Minister calling for more time.
At present, it is set to expire before the end of the parliamentary term, with over 1200 amendments yet to be debated on in the House of Lords.
Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley and chair of Christians on the Left, told Premier Christian News that parliament must “start again” if it is to introduce assisted dying legislation.
“The bill remains, in my view, both flawed and dangerous,” she said. “To introduce this to the NHS not only puts huge pressure on [NHS staff], but it goes against the very principle on which the NHS was founded.”
“The whole point of this private members’ bill, it was a free vote. This isn’t split down party lines,” Dixon added. “There were a lot of Labour MPs alongside me who voted against the bill with a wide range of concerns… at the moment, it's about preserving life, about giving people the best quality of life, and supporting people to have a good and dignified death.”
Proponents of the bill are now requesting the prime minister to find “time for Parliament to come to a decision in the next session.”
The campaign letter was organised by Peter Prinsley, MP for Bury St Edmunds and a consultant doctor. Signatories argue that scrapping the legislation on the basis of time and not merit undermines parliament’s ability to deliver on issues of public concern.
"Our ask is simple," wrote Prinsley. "That, whether or not the bill returns through the private members' bill ballot after the King's Speech, time will be found for Parliament to come to a decision in the next session.
"It would remain a conscience issue for MPs, the government's neutrality would be maintained, and it need not take up time reserved for government business."