Originally published at The Crux
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UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Wednesday said debate around the introduction of assisted suicide should be put on hold until palliative and social care programs in the country are properly funded.
“I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first,” Burnham told reporters on Wednesday.
“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care,” said the Prime Minister, who was speaking with reporters after a speech at a London care home on Wednesday.
During his Wednesday remarks, Burnham vowed to repair his country’s social care system – the day-to-day assistance network for the elderly and persons with disabilities, chronic illness, and other vulnerabilities – saying politicians’ failure to address systemic problems is a “major dereliction of public duty.”
“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care,” Burnham told reporters, “a context where palliative and social care remains poorly funded.”
“That’s the position I will stick to,” Burnham
