Kent widower urges assisted dying bill to pass

MPs have voted in favour of an historic bill that would allow some terminally ill patients to end their lives early. Bartholomew Hall reports.

Transcript

00:00As a country, we should be ashamed that we haven't passed a law before now.

00:06Why? I believe it's a lack of moral fibre.

00:11Mike Moroney has been campaigning for assisted dying for years.

00:15Following the painful loss of his sister, Mike says he's shocked the UK

00:19doesn't allow people the choice to end their lives early when terminally ill.

00:23However, the fight grew even larger when his wife Pauline was taken into palliative care

00:29as she entered a losing battle with lymphoma.

00:32I just want to die, she said, several times.

00:35And you know, I have some kind of guilt because really I would have loved to have helped her to die.

00:51And that's why I'm so much in favour of a law in this country

00:56which allows people to be medically assisted.

01:00Today, MPs voted for the first time in favour of making assisted dying legal.

01:05It's now set to face many more months of debate and scrutiny on the path to becoming law.

01:11In its current form, the bill sets out a number of requirements

01:14which must be met before someone can end their life early.

01:17That includes for them to be ill enough where they're expected to die within the next six months,

01:22for them to have the mental capacity in order to make the decision,

01:25so free from coercion or pressure,

01:27and for two independent doctors plus a High Court judge to sign off on the final decision.

01:33Mike's MP, Rosie Duffield, announced the night before the debates

01:36that after careful consideration, she would not be supporting the bill.

01:40Very disappointed. I won't say any more.

01:44I'm sorry, Rosie, if you hear this.

01:46I believe this is a lack of moral fibre.

01:49You're not thinking and putting yourself through the thought process for other people

01:55other than your own particular views.

01:58Others, including Sittingbourne and Sheppey representative Kevin McKenna, have been in full support.

02:03I've worked with really compassionate and very skilled, well-trained clinicians

02:08who've been taught to spot coercion. It's fundamental to our practice.

02:12Others have been clear about their concerns.

02:15At the moment, there's a lack of experience in hospitals.

02:20The hospices are under-resourced.

02:22Both are capable of providing excellent services.

02:26Going forward, this could be something that we should consider

02:29and maybe it came too soon into this Parliament as well,

02:35so maybe more discussion, more debates around this.

02:38I'm not convinced in the current legislation it's strong enough to support this bill.

02:45So whilst the debate is far from over, for campaigners like Mike,

02:49today's vote is a welcome step towards more choice when families are faced with the unimaginable.

02:55Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.