David Cameron becomes first former PM to back changing assisted dying law

Lord David Cameron has become the first former British prime minister to support moves to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults.

The former Conservative prime minister, who was knighted by Rishi Sunak and served as his foreign minister, had previously opposed proposals to change the law.

But in an article in the Times newspaper, he said he had been convinced to support the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which is due to be debated by MPs on Friday.

Lord Cameron wrote in The Times: As campaigners have convincingly argued, this proposal is not about ending life, but shortening it.

Many of these safeguards will be familiar from previous proposals. But this new bill further protects vulnerable people, in particular by making coercion a criminal offense.

Former prime ministers Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Baroness Theresa May and Gordon Brown have all spoken out against the bill.

None of them will have a vote on Friday, but Baroness May and Lord Cameron would if the bill reaches the Lords.

If this bill reaches the House of Lords, I will vote for it, Lord Cameron said.

Changing his mind, Lord Cameron said he had questioned whether there were sufficient safeguards to protect the vulnerable and said he thought so.

He also suggested he disagreed with arguments that the bill could be a slippery slope toward further reforms.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood shared her belief that the law change could result in death on demand when she made her opposition clear.

But Lord Cameron said lip service arguments can be used against almost any proposal for social change.

He added: I urge MPs to look at the substance of the proposal before them.

I believe there is a strong case to suggest that this is a reasonable and practical resting place for public policy in this area.

The Conservative peer also said he did not find arguments that the bill would put unnecessary pressure on the NHS convincing.

He said his final consideration had been whether the law change would result in a significant reduction in human suffering.

“I find it very difficult to pretend that the answer to that question is anything other than yes,” he said.

Lord Cameron and his predecessor Mr Brown both lost young children but came to very different conclusions about the bill.

While Leader of the Opposition in 2009, Lord Cameron's son Ivan died aged six from a form of epilepsy.

Mr Brown, then Prime Minister, canceled their weekly exchange at the despatch box out of respect.

Writing in the Guardian last week, the former Labor prime minister explained how the death of his 11-day-old daughter Jennifer had motivated his opposition to the bill.

Mr Brown described this period as one of the most precious days of his and his wife Sarah's lives.

He said he believed better palliative care, rather than assisted dying, was needed to improve end-of-life support.

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