No, the UK government isn't offering 'cash bonuses' to families who euthanise elderly relatives

euronews (in English)

The bizarre claims have sprung off the back of MPs' approval of a bill which would legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales, subject to approval from two doctors and a judge.

Transcript

00:00No, the U.K. isn't offering cash bonuses to euthanize the elderly.

00:09A social media post claims that the British government is offering cash bonuses

00:13to families who euthanize their elderly relatives.

00:16Posts on Facebook and Dex appear to show a screenshot of an article

00:20with a headline saying as such,

00:22complete with a picture of an elderly man shutting himself inside a purple pod.

00:27The ex-post also links the article,

00:29which attributes the claim to what it calls a disturbing report from U.K. news outlet The Telegraph.

00:35The captions of the social media posts say the same thing,

00:38alleging that experts have warned that terminally ill pensioners

00:41could end their lives earlier to spare loved ones six-figure tax bills.

00:45However, this is all misleading.

00:47The article that the post referred to was published by The People's Voice,

00:50which is a notorious U.S.-based fake news website.

00:54These articles have been repeatedly debunked by fact-checkers over the years,

00:58often when the site went by its former names News Punch or Your News Wire.

01:02The EU has also previously criticized the site for spreading Russian propaganda.

01:07Regardless of The People's Voice's reputation,

01:09the claims about cash bonuses for euthanizing the elderly have no factual basis.

01:14The Telegraph article that allegedly reported on the matter doesn't refer to cash bonuses at all.

01:19Instead, it points out that under current U.K. rules,

01:22pensions are inherited free of income tax if the person dies before 75 years old.

01:27If England and Wales' assisted dying bill becomes law,

01:30it could leave the elderly with a tough choice between prolonging their life

01:34or saving their family thousands of pounds, according to The Telegraph.

01:38At the end of November, U.K. MPs voted in favor of a historic bill

01:42that could legalize assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales,

01:46subject to approval from two doctors and a judge.

01:49It will now be further scrutinized by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

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