Health Secretary Wes Streeting has instructed his department to review the potential costs of changing the law to legalize assisted dying.

Mr Streeting, plans to vote against a major bill on the issueHe warned that a new assisted dying law, if implemented, could cause harm to other NHS services.

It comes as MPs are weighing whether to vote for the amendment when given the opportunity later this month.

Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Put forward by Labor MP Kim Leadbeater It will give terminally ill patients the chance to have the option of ending their lives for six months.

There has been much debate over the bill since then. details were released on Monday eveningIncluding that medication to end a patient’s life must be self-administered and that people are terminally ill and expected to die within six months.

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Ms Leadbeater, who has the backing of former government minister Lord Falconer and ChildLine founder Dame Esther Rantzen, believes her proposed legislation is the “soundest” in the world and contains safeguards that she hopes will be “reassuring” to those on the fence.

These include that two independent doctors must confirm a patient is suitable for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give approval.

The Labor MP argued that the fact that terminally ill patients would have to make the choice and administer the medication themselves “creates an extra level of protection and protection”.

But several cabinet ministers have spoken out against the legislation, including Mr Streeting, who will be responsible for the new law, and Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood.

Announcing the review, Mr Streeting said: “Now that we have seen the draft Bill published, I have asked my department to look at the costs of providing a new service to enable assisted dying to progress, because I think ‘whatever my personal position or vote is, if people vote for assisted dying “I am very clear that my ministry and the entire government will respect the will of the parliament.”

Although the health secretary warned of potential cost downsides for the NHS, his critics pointed out there could be potential savings to be made if patients needed less care because they chose to end their own lives, something Mr Streeting described as “chillingly slippery” slope argument”.

“I hate it when people choose assisted dying because they think they’re saving someone’s money somewhere – whether it’s relatives or the NHS,” he said.

“And I think that’s one of the issues that MPs are grappling with when they’re deciding how to cast their votes.

“But this is a free vote; the government’s position is neutral.”

Speaking to reporters after speaking at the NHS Providers conference in Liverpool, Mr Streeting said there were “choices and trade-offs” and that “any new service comes at the expense of other competing pressures and priorities”.

“That doesn’t mean people should vote against it based on that,” he said.

“People need to weigh this choice, just as we weigh all other options right now.”

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MPs will debate and vote on Ms Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill on 29 November; This will be the first House of Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015.

The government gave MPs a “free vote” on the issue; This means they can vote according to their conscience and without pressure to toe the party line.

In 2015, a bill was passed by former Labor MP Rob Marris that would make it legal to end the lives of terminally ill patients. It was defeated in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 118.

(c) Sky News 2024: Wes Streeting reviews the potential costs of starting assisted dying