End of Life Bill drops High Court approval

Previously, the Bill specified that a High Court judge would sign off applications once doctors’ consent was obtained.

However, Kim Leadbeater MP, sponsor of the Bill, said this week she will propose an amendment to create a ‘voluntary assisted dying commission’, chaired by a High Court judge or a former senior judge. The commission ‘would then authorise expert panels to look at every application for an assisted death.

‘Those panels would have a legal chair, but also include a psychiatrist and a social worker, who will bring their own expertise in assessing mental capacity and identifying any risk of coercion’.

The Law Society has stressed the need for ‘robust, accessible and independent safeguards’ including proper resourcing for the High Court to deal with the extra workload and the provision of non-means-tested legal aid to ensure adequate legal advice and representation.