On Wednesday, 23 October, under the agenda item
‘Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv) -
Assisted dying', the Senedd will debate assisted dying.
A Member Debate is an opportunity for a Member who is not a
member of government to bring forward topics for discussion in
the Siambr.
The debate is anticipated to start between 15:00 – 15:30 and will
last up to an hour.
This briefing is only to be used for
background and not quoted.
What is being debated?
The motion proposes that the
Senedd:
1. Notes that responsibility for legislating to allow
assisted dying is not devolved to Wales as it is currently a
matter governed by criminal law.
2. Notes that if assisted dying were to be legalised, and
given its responsibility for health and social care, the Welsh
Government would require an in-depth understanding of any
proposals.
3. Believes that adults of sound mind who are intolerably
suffering from an incurable, physical condition and have a clear
and settled wish to die should have the option of an assisted
death, subject to robust safeguards.
4. Notes that a recent inquiry by the Westminster Health and
Social Care Committee found that the introduction of assisted
dying has been linked with an improvement in palliative care in
several jurisdictions.
5. Notes that the Office of Health Economics found that even
if they received the best possible palliative medicine, in
England and Wales at least 5,000 per year would die without any
effective pain relief in their final month.
6. Notes that public attitudes towards assisted dying have
changed, with up to 88% of the public favouring a change in the
law.
7. Notes that more than one suffering person a week from the
UK now chooses to end their life at one of the Swiss end-of-life
centres, yet many others who would choose the same cannot afford
the high costs involved, often well over £10,000.
8. Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) support the principles of assisted dying; and
b) support Westminster parliament to introduce a
compassionate assisted dying law in England and Wales.
The motion is submitted by MS (Labour) and has
co-submitters from Plaid Cymru (, ) and the Welsh Conservatives
(), as well as an additional
five supporters (, , , and ).
By convention, Member Debate motions are not commonly subject to
amendment, though Standing Orders do not prevent any Member
tabling an amendment. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social
Care, MS, will respond on behalf of
the Welsh Government.
Is it devolved?
Assisted dying is a matter of criminal law which is not
devolved so the Senedd cannot pass laws regarding its
legality. A Bill legalising assisted dying in the jurisdiction of
England and Wales was introduced to the House of Commons on
Wednesday, 16 October.
The vote
Voting time is likely to be around 19:00 -19:30, subject to
Senedd proceedings. A vote on the motion will take place if any
Member ‘objects' to the motion being passed.
The vote is ‘non-binding'. This means it does not pass any new
laws or commit the Senedd or the Welsh Government to change
anything in how the law is applied in Wales. The vote indicates
the opinion of Members of the Senedd.
It is likely to be a ‘free vote' where Members vote with their
conscience and do not need to follow a party whip – but this is
ultimately a matter for the parties themselves.
Wider context
This BBC article gives some
context to the debate and an overview of the legal situation
across the UK and worldwide.
Humanists UK are holding a rally in support of the motion on the
Senedd steps at midday, Wednesday, 23 October.
