UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham stated that the debate over legalizing assisted dying should wait until the country’s palliative care and adult social care systems have been fixed.

Background

Last year, elected lawmakers voted in favor of changing the law in England and Wales to allow assisted dying in some circumstances, but the bill failed in the upper chamber. Supporters of the law change say it is about the right to choose, while critics argue that vulnerable people could feel pressured to end their lives when palliative care and social care are often underfunded.

Burnham, who became prime minister last week and has made fixing adult social care a priority, said the debate should only happen once the right care structures were in place. He emphasized that it is challenging to introduce the wider debate in a context where people are not receiving the necessary care and having peace of mind about that care.

Under the legislation debated last year, mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live would have had the right to choose to end their lives with medical help.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.