Why is the assisted dying bill being rushed through parliament?

A change in the law letting people demand help from the state to kill themselves is the sort of thing any government ought to take a great deal of time over. It’s an area where thoughtful delay is entirely desirable, with committees of the great and the good encouraged to take a deep breath, hear as many views as possible and take their time over any conclusions. Unfortunately this is the exact opposite of what is happening with the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

It’s increasingly apparent that this proposal is being treated more as if it were some urgent infrastructure project that needs to be cleared and got under way as soon as decently possible. We have already seen this in the short notice given to parliament of the Bill’s terms and the minimal time allocated for debate. It was also visible in the determined efforts by those in charge of the private member’s bill committee to seemingly skew the evidence it receives towards those in favour of the Bill and limit as far as possible the number of opponents it is prepared to listen to.