Melanie Ward
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
The following extract is from the Second Reading debate on 29 November 2024.
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend briefly mentioned coercion, and the well-held fears of many of us in the House about the risk of coercion, particularly for vulnerable people. What does he make of the fact that in Washington state, where the relevant law is restricted to terminally ill people like this Bill, last year 59% of those who went through with an assisted death did so because they feared being “a burden” to “family, friends or care givers”? In Oregon, the proportion last year was 43%.
[Official Report, 29 November 2024; Vol. 757, c. 1049.]
Written correction submitted by the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward):
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend briefly mentioned coercion, and the well-held fears of many of us in the House about the risk of coercion, particularly for vulnerable people. What does he make of the fact that in Washington state, where the relevant law is restricted to terminally ill people like this Bill, in 2022 59% of those who went through with an assisted death did so because they feared being “a burden” to “family, friends or care givers”? In Oregon, the proportion last year was 43%.