Pharmacists to have choice to opt-out of assisted dying process

Pharmacists to have choice to opt-out of assisted dying process
Pharmacists will not be forced to be a part in assisted dying cases with the MP leading the campaign expected to made amendments to the bill which is currently going through parliamentary process.
Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, will say that “no person is under any duty to participate in the provision of assistance”. The draft legislation currently states that doctors and other health professionals can refuse to take part. The new amendment will mean that pharmacists and any other staff involved in the process can say no and under employment law, they cannot be dismissed or face disciplinary action as a consequence.
“I promised during the lengthy committee hearings into the Bill that I would look at how we could extend the ‘opt-out’ provisions and that is what I will be proposing this week. As a result, nobody will be at risk of any detriment to their careers if, for any reason at all, they chose not to take part,” said Leadbeater. “Not all people working in and around the health and care sector would want to participate in the provision of assisted dying”.
In a historic vote last year, MPs backed a bill to allow assisted dying, paving the way for Britain to follow other countries such as Australia, Canada and some U.S. states in what would be one of its biggest social reforms in a generation.