Assisted dying law change - all the hurdles patients would have to go through to end their lives

MPs will today vote on a Bill that could pave the way to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults. Here The Mirror looks at the strict rules for people to access the treatment

MPs will today take part in a historic vote that could pave the way for assisted dying to be made legal in England and Wales.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour backbencher pushing for the change in law, said she hoped the Commons stands ready to "correct injustice and reduce human suffering".

In a plea to MPs on the eve of the vote, she said: "People will be looking in on Parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love."

Under current law, assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. But the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being voted on today would allow those with a terminal illness - and with just six months left to live - to end their life early.

Ms Leadbeater has looked at similar laws from other countries and claimed her Bill "provides for the strictest safeguards anywhere in the world". Here The Mirror looks at the hurdles patients will have to go through in order to access the treatment.

Who can apply to end their life?

The treatment will only be available to those who have been given a terminal diagnosis and in the final six month of their life.

It will not be similar to countries such as Canada where those suffering from unbearable pain - but without a terminal illness - are able to apply. Patients will also have to be over the age of 18.

How does the process start?

Those wanting to end their life early must have the mental capacity to make a choice about the end of their life and be deemed to have expressed a clear, settled and informed wish - free from coercion or pressure.

The patient will then have to make two separate declarations, witnessed and signed, about their wish to die.

Who has to approve each case?

The process must involve two doctors being satisfied the person is eligible. They must do their assessments at least seven days apart and if both doctors approve the request separately, the patient can then apply to the High Court.

What happens if the High Court approves the request?

If the court then decides the patient can end their life early there must be a 14-day "reflection period". Once that time period passes and if the doctors remain satisfied, the drugs will be prescribed to the patient.

Who administers the drugs?

Countries across the world that have some form of assisted dying laws have a mix of patients self-administering the lethal drug or physician assisted. The Bill proposed by the Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater makes clear the dying person must take the medication themselves. No doctor or anyone else can give the medication to the terminally ill person.

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