Science Secretary Peter Kyle will support assisted dying bill

Science Secretary Peter Kyle has told constituents he will support the assisted dying bill when it is debated in Parliament later this month.

The MP for Hove and Portslade, who backed a similar bill in 2015, said his “position remains unchanged and… I support moves to legalise assisted dying”.

In a response to constituents seen by LabourList, Kyle said: “It is my belief that the trend in social policy in my lifetime has been to give more control to people, and, in general, that choices about our well-being and health are predominantly our own. However, when someone is diagnosed with terminal illness, more and more control returns to the state the closer you move towards the end of your life.

“Along with good care, dying people deserve choice to control the timing and manner of their death, and when death is inevitable, suffering should not be.”

Kyle also said that the matter for him has become an “issue of social justice”, highlighting how those with money have been able to travel abroad to countries like Switzerland to end their lives.

He said: “As someone who has entered politics to tackle inequality in all its forms, I think this is unfair; autonomy should not be limited to only those who can afford it.”

Kyle said provisions in the bill satisfy his concerns about protecting those in need and ensuring people don’t choose an early death for fear of being a burden on friends and family.

He said: “To qualify for assisted dying two doctors and a high court judge would have to certify that you are of sound mind, not being coerced, and have six months of life remaining.

“Disability quite rightly does not qualify as a terminal illness and neither does old age.”

READ MORE: Why I and other Labour MPs are struggling with the arguments around assisted dying

It comes after four other members of the cabinet, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, indicated they will not support the bill, presented by Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater, when debated in the House of Commons.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn have said they will support the bill when it is debated in Parliament on November 29, while Chancellor Rachel Reeves said earlier this year that she is undecided on the subject.

The text of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due to be expected tomorrow.

In an article for The House magazine, Kim Leadbeater said that the bill will “contain the strictest protections and safeguards of any legislation anywhere in the world”.

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