A retired borough solicitor with 50 years of experience has expressed concerns over a proposed law which could help terminally ill adults end their lives. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday, October 16. A debate on the bill next month will mark the first time the controversial issue has been voted on in the Commons in almost a decade.
It could mean terminally ill adults in England and Wales could be helped to end their lives “subject to safeguards and protections”. Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Retired solicitor Paul Lochery, 77, of Heaton , who handled people's wills and power of attorney has spoken out about the potential consequences of the Bill if it was passed.
He said: “I know the effect that legalising formerly criminal acts can have on people’s perceptions. “If you start whittling away at an absolute ban, you end up opening the door to all sorts of negative possibilities. “In our society, life is meant to be sacred.
“And killing anybody has always been deemed wrong, going back a long time. Paul Lochery (Image: Public) “If one section of life isn’t sacred, you open the door to abuse and treating life as less valuable than it is. “As a private client solicitor, I dealt with people's wills and powers of attorney.
“My clients talked to me like a member of the family. “I'd known them for .