When someone is facing the end of their life, the last thing they need is more red tape
12 February 2025, 14:16 | Updated: 14 February 2025, 16:37
When someone is facing the end of their life, they deserve kindness, dignity, and a system that works for them—not one that ties them up in red tape.
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Kim Leadbeater’s proposed expert panel system for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Choices) Bill is a simple, fair, and compassionate way to make sure assisted dying is both safe and accessible.
Right now, the Bill suggests that a judge in the High Court should sign off on every assisted dying request. No other country does this, and for good reason. Top legal experts here like Sir James Munby (who used to be in charge of the relevant bit of the High Court), Sir Nicholas Mostyn (another former High Court judge), Lord Sumption (a former Supreme Court judge), and Lord Thomas (former Lord Chief Justice) have said it wouldn’t work in practice. Instead, an expert panel, made up of a judge or senior lawyer, a psychiatrist, and a social worker, should review each case. This means the process would be quicker and be a stronger safeguard.
This is about giving people like Dan Tuckley a real choice. In August 2022, Dan arrived at A&E with what he thought was a gym injury—only to be diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Having watched his father suffer a prolonged and painful death, Dan wanted to avoid the same fate. But with his health deteriorating rapidly, time was against him. Dan had to arrange to travel to Switzerland while he was still physically able.
Under the current law, his only option was to spend his final days arranging an expensive journey abroad instead of being at home with loved ones. His family tells me, “Cancer didn’t kill Dan, Dan killed cancer.” He died in Switzerland in September 2022. No-one should have to go through that.
If the process is too difficult and bureaucratic, then even with legal change, people like Dan may still be forced abroad. As England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, put it: “What we do not want is a system very difficult for them to navigate so that they spend their entire last six months of life stuck in a bureaucratic thicket.” The process must be clear, straightforward, and fair while protecting those who are vulnerable.
A High Court process would add delay, cost, and stress without real benefit. Doctors already make life-and-death decisions—whether to continue treatment, withdraw life support, or provide palliative care. Assisted dying should be treated with the same trust in medical expertise.
This Bill is about making sure those facing the hardest time of their lives don’t have to fight bureaucracy too. Let’s create a system that is fair, safe, and, above all, kind.
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Nathan Stilwell is an Assisted Dying Campaigner for Humanists UK.
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