We are repeatedly told, at least by its critics, that the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is the most important piece of legislation to come before Parliament for decades. On this basis, it has been suggested that it is being rushed; that the Bill is poorly drafted; that it should be a government Bill and not a Private Member’s Bill; that it is inescapably a slippery slope; that it exposes the vulnerable to great risk; and for all these reasons and others it should be resisted and rejected.
Given that assisted dying for the sick has been on the agenda for nearly a century and has been much discussed in Parliament and outside in recent years, the argument as to speed is risible. The drafting is actually rather impressive and if anything owes too much to anticipating and accommodating the views of critics. Thus, the initial inclusion of the requirement for
