Why changes to assisted dying bill are cause for concern | Letters

Readers respond to Kim Leadbeater’s proposed amendment to replace a high court judge with an expert panel to make final decisions on applications Polly Toynbee’s article on Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill has a familiar feel (The concerted attack on assisted dying won’t stop the public supporting this bill, 14 February), with its ad hominem attack on opponents and dismissive approach to their concerns. I am not religious, I don’t read the Tory press, I am not part of some opaque conspiracy and my opinions are not “sham indignation”. I feel genuine dismay at the manipulation and incompetence on show in parliamentary consideration of the bill.My perspective comes from my background as a psychiatrist with expertise in the interaction between severe physical illness and mental health. Leadbeater’s committee initially refused to hear from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and backtracked in response to the resultant outcry, eventually inviting a representative of the college and two other psychiatrists (one of them me) who appeared as individual experts. Continue reading...