Tom Cross KC and Ruth Kennedy’s legal Opinion on the compatibility of the Assisted Dying Bill with the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) has been published. The Bill is at the Report stage in the House of Commons.
As set out in their Opinion, their view is that the Assisted Dying Bill in its current form would not be compatible. They explain that that is “because, without justification, it contains no adequate safeguard protecting the position of those with disabilities where suicidal ideation is more likely, and who are, because of that feature of their disability, more likely to express a clear and settled wish to die.”
They continue:
“Persons with disabilities of the above sort are in a significantly different situation from persons who do not have such disabilities, because they are – all else being equal – more likely to express the clear and settled wish to die required under the legislation to be eligible to be assisted to die. They are on that basis more vulnerable both than persons whose disabilities are not of that sort and than persons who are not disabled at all. Accordingly, they are on well-established principles required to be treated differently under Article 14 [of the ECHR] unless there is justification not to do so. However, without justification, the legislation fails to provide an adequate safeguard to address that greater vulnerability.”
The Opinion has been widely covered in the press, including in the Independent. They were instructed by The Christian Institute.
