UK's proposed assisted dying law to be changed to remove judge sign-off

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a High Court judge sign off on each case, lawmaker Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday. 

Opponents of assisted dying say the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives. 

In a historic vote three months ago lawmakers backed the bill to allow assisted dying, paving the way for Britain to follow other countries such as Australia, Canada and some U.S. states in launching what would be one of its biggest social reforms in a generation.

The "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life)" bill, proposed by Labour's Leadbeater, passed that first hurdle with 330 lawmakers voting in favour and 275 against.

Under the proposals, mentally competent, terminally ill adults in England and Wales with six months or less left to live would be given the right to choose to end their lives with medical help after approval by two doctors and a judge. 

With the process of political scrutiny underway, Leadbeater said she wanted to scrap the need for authorisation by a High Court judge, with each case instead considered by a panel of experts, including a senior legal figure, psychiatrists and social workers. 

A review by the High Court could follow if necessary.

Leadbeater said the change strengthened the bill because it brought in experts from different professions, giving "an extra layer of scrutiny".

"It's absolutely a change for the better," she told BBC Radio. 

Polls show that a majority of Britons back assisted dying and supporters say the law needs to catch up with public opinion. But the bill could still be voted down as it makes its way through both the House of Commons and the upper chamber, the House of Lords.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Hugh Lawson)