UK’s Longest-serving MPs Issue Joint Plea for Commons to Reject Assisted Dying Bill

THE GUARDIAN: Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, mother and father of the House, say law has been rushed

Britain’s longest-serving MPs, Labour’s Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, have issued a joint call urging the Commons to reject the assisted dying bill, arguing it is being rushed through and puts vulnerable people at risk.

Writing for the Guardian, Abbott and Leigh – the mother and father of the house – said there had been insufficient scrutiny of the law and urged parliament to instead focus on better health and care services.

Four influential new Labour MPs have said they have also decided to oppose the bill amid concerns about the process and the pressure it has put on new parliamentarians.

A landmark vote on legalising assisted dying is due to be held on Friday 29 November. It is a free vote, meaning MPs can decide whether to support or oppose it. In 2015, an assisted dying bill was rejected by 330 votes to 118, but since then a number of other countries have legalised the practice and polls show widespread public support. » | Jessica Elgot and Peter Walker | Wednesday, November 20, 2024

THE GUARDIAN: Assisted dying: what are the ‘slippery slope’ fears in England and Wales?: Lawyers disagree on whether law is likely to be expanded to include people who are not terminally ill »

Assisted Dying Debate: Lord Moore vs Lord Falconer

Oct 18, 2024 | Parliament is set to debate legalising assisted dying, following a bill introduced by MP Kim Leadbeater. The former justice secretary Lord Falconer (who introduced a similar bill to the Lords) and The Spectator’s chairman Lord Moore sat down to debate the idea. Do we all deserve the right to choose? Or, is this the overreach of the state, endangering vulnerable people?

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Urges C of E Bishops in Lords to Back Assisted Dying Bill

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: George Carey’s position in stark contrast to that of current head of C of E and that of Islam and the Catholic church

George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has urged Church of England bishops in the House of Lords to back a parliamentary bill on assisted dying, saying that in the past “church leaders have often shamefully resisted change”.

The 26 bishops should “be on the side of those who … want a dignified, compassionate end to their lives”, Lord Carey told the Guardian.

Carey, who retired as leader of the C of E in 2002 and still sits in the Lords, said he would back Kim Leadbeater’s bill to legalise assisted dying “because it is necessary, compassionate and principled”.

He said it was “ironic that I will represent the vast majority of Anglicans who favour change, and the bishops in the House of Lords will not”.

Carey’s position is in stark contrast to that of the current archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who this week described Leadbeater’s bill as dangerous, saying it could put pressure on people to ask for an assisted death.

Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, also said the state “should not legalise assisted suicide”, saying better resourcing of palliative care was the right response to end-of-life suffering. » | Harriet Sherwood | Friday, October 18, 2024

Related material here and here.

England and Wales Assisted Dying Bill Formally Launched in House of Commons

THE GUARDIAN: MPs to hold first debate on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill on 29 November

A bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales has been formally introduced in the House of Commons, triggering intense discussion over the coming weeks and months on an emotionally charged and controversial issue.

MPs will hold their first debate on Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill on 29 November. They will be given a free vote on the bill, meaning they can vote according to individual conscience.

The text of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill has not been published, but its title states that it would “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life”.

The bill is expected to propose assisted dying be restricted to mentally competent adults with six months or less to live, although a 12-month prognosis is also a possibility. The details will be published in the coming weeks ahead of the Commons debate. » | Harriet Sherwood | Wednesday, October 16, 2024

UK’s top Catholic bishop urges faithful to lobby MPs to oppose assisted dying: Cardinal Vincent Nichols says proposed bill could change medical duty of care into ‘duty to kill’ »

I suppose that this far-left government wants this bill passed through Parliament in order to help Cruella de Ville fill her £20bn “black hole”! Funny thing, though, that these extremists find it okay for doctors to help people die now, but they are dead nuts against someone smoking even though smoking is likely to take about fifty years to do the job (if it does it at all)!

Starmer is an out and out atheist, apparently. Little wonder he sees nothing wrong with man doing God’s work for Him.

Whilst I see the logic in helping people in terrible pain to bring an end to their suffering, I fear that this bill, however well-intentioned, is fraught with many dangers and open to much abuse, especially by greedy families just waiting for their inheritances. – © Mark Alexander

Baroness Finlay: ‘Labour’s assisted dying bill is dangerous – it could have unintended consequences’: The Lords’ only resident palliative care expert warns Labour’s bill risks a ‘slippery slope’ to coercion by relatives and ‘doctor shopping’ »

”Assisted Dying”

MARK ALEXANDER: Assisted dying is a euphemism for euthanasia. Let us be clear about that! So, let us call it exactly what it is.

I know that there are strong arguments in favour of euthanasia, but there are also many strong arguments against it. The harsh reality is that humans have started to play God; and the Anglican Church is strangely silent on this most sensitive of issues.

Our atheist leader — the Führer — is said to be all for it. But then he would be, wouldn’t he, with his belief system, or lack of one? Surely, he will be glad to be able to pass such a bill; the billions saved for the Treasury will quickly start to fill his “black hole”.

These days, most people bundle their old and infirm into care homes, without compunction. Life is easier that way! That they do this is a sad indictment of the über-materialistic times we live in, a sad indictment of modern Western societies.

The West truly has lost its way now. Expect its demise sooner rather than later. This moral void will most certainly be filled, however. We are a post-Christian society now: people have abandoned Christianity. They have abandoned God. But I believe it is true to say that God will not have abandoned them. He will manifest Himself in another way, in another, fast-growing religion in this country: Islam.

We need to think carefully about this step into the unknown, which we appear determined to take.

All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander

ADDENDUM:

It should be noted that doctors practise “assisted dying” already. I know this for a fact because my life’s partner was assisted in his passing in Philadelphia in 2016 under my very own eyes. His continued and long-term hospital care became too expensive for his premium health insurance to countenance. So, steps were taken to help him on his way! It was so subtle, even I didn’t realise what was happening until it was too late! – © Mark Alexander

Related video here.

MPs Will Vote on a New Bill to Introduce Legal Assisted Dying

Oct 4, 2024 | A bill to introduce a legal assisted dying process to Britain will be tabled this month and Sir Keir Starmer has promised to give time for it to become law if MPs vote to back it. | Broadcast on 04/10/24

Playing God in an increasingly godless society! The West really has lost its way! – © Mark Alexander

Portuguese Parliament Legalises Euthanasia after Long Battle

THE GUARDIAN: Decision to allow medically assisted dying has divided the deeply Catholic country

The Portuguese parliament, which had previously passed the euthanasia bill four times, only to see it sent back every time for a constitutional review due to opposition from the president.Photograph: Antonio Cotrim/EPA
After a long battle, Portugal passed a law on Friday legalising euthanasia for people in great suffering and with incurable diseases, joining just a handful of countries around the world.

The issue has divided the deeply Catholic country and was strongly opposed by conservative president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a devout churchgoer.

Under its provisions, people aged over 18 will be allowed to request assistance in dying if they are terminally ill and in intolerable suffering. It will only cover those suffering “lasting” and “unbearable” pain, unless they are deemed not to be mentally fit to make such a decision.

The law will be applicable only to nationals and legal residents and will not extend to foreigners coming into the country to seek assisted dying. » | AFP in Lisbon | Friday, May 12, 2023

Top UK Brain Surgeon Calls for Urgent Inquiry into Assisted Dying

THE GUARDIAN: Henry Marsh reveals he has advanced prostate cancer and says law ‘insists I must suffer’

Henry Marsh, one of the UK’s leading brain surgeons and a bestselling author, has called for an urgent inquiry into assisted dying after revealing he has advanced prostate cancer.

Marsh, the author of Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery, said dying of cancer could be “a very horrible business” but the law “insists I must suffer”. Politicians had “shown a striking lack of compassion by ducking this issue for too long and are inadvertently guilty of great cruelty”, he said.

His call for an inquiry is backed by more than 50 MPs and peers from different parties, some of whom have previously voted against changing the law. Their letter to Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, argues that the UK has now fallen behind many other countries on the issue of assisted dying.

Last month Spain became the latest European country to approve legislation giving patients with incurable diseases or unbearable conditions the right to choose to end their lives with the assistance of a doctor. » | Harriet Sherwood | Thursday, April 1, 2021

Allow Assisted Suicide for Those with Less Than a Year to Live

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Doctors should be allowed to help terminally ill patients kill themselves – but only if they have less than a year to live, under proposals published in a major report today.

The independent Commission on Assisted Dying, whose members include several prominent peers and medics, wants GPs to be able to prescribe lethal doses of medication for dying people to take themselves.

The report, published today, calls for the “inadequate and incoherent” law against assisted suicide to be scrapped following a series of high profile cases where patients have used the Dignitas suicide clinic to take their own lives.

Although helping someone to die is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment and police still investigate all cases, there have been no prosecutions since landmark guidelines were set out almost two years ago.

The Commission says the situation is “very distressing” for families, “uncertain” for health workers and place a “deeply challenging burden” on police and prosecutors.

Under its plans, doctors would be allowed to prescribe drugs to end the lives of terminally ill patients who have fewer than 12 months to live provided they are judged to have the mental capacity and clear desire to die.

If implemented, it could mean more than 1,000 people a year being helped to die in England and Wales. » | Martin Beckford, Social Affairs Editor | Thursday, January 05, 2012

Lord Falconer Suggests Archbishop of Canterbury’s Stance on Assisted Suicide Lacks Christian Compassion
THE TELEGRAPH: Lord Falconer has suggested that the Archbishop of Canterbury’s stance on assisted suicide lacks Christian compassion.

The former Lord Chancellor claimed Dr Rowan Williams should not want the relatives of terminally ill people to be prosecuted for helping them end their lives.

He called on the Church of England to take part in a wider discussion on assisted dying, even though it has been at the forefront of opposition to possible changes in the law.

Lord Falconer is the latest high-profile legal figure to speak out in the polarised debate over whether anyone who helps a loved one end their suffering should face jail.

His attempt to amend current laws – which make aiding and abetting suicide a crime punishable by up to 14 years behind bars – failed in the House of Lords in July. He wanted to remove the threat of prosecution for people who help relatives travel to “suicide clinics” such as Dignitas in Switzerland, as long as two doctors had certified they were terminally ill and had made their decision rationally. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Friday, September 11, 2009