Dear Sir,
Last weekend I watched a programme on BBC about assisted dying and there was a lot of talk about the right to choose, I think I have heard this before, I believe in the right to life, which comes from God, there is no question of choice. This choice is on a slippery slope. The beginnings at first were merely a subtle shift in the basic attitude of the physicians. It started with the acceptance of the attitude, basic in the euthanasia movement, that there is such a thing as a life not worthy to be lived.
State-assisted suicide would have devastating outcomes for the most vulnerable and marginalised people in Britain.
Last week it emerged that an assisted suicide bill will be brought forward in the House of Commons, following a private member’s bill ballot last month.
The Bill, from Labour’s Kim Leadbeater – who placed first in the ballot – would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill people.
Improving the care that people with terminal illnesses receive should be a political priority. However, ‘assisted dying’ must not be part of the answer. Legalising this practice would undermine suicide prevention, damage the bond of trust between doctors and patients, fuel negative attitudes towards individuals with serious health conditions and disabled people, and see marginalised Britons choosing to end their lives because they lack sufficient health and welfare support. We believe the state has a moral duty to protect the public from these outcomes. Better support for Hospice care, killing the vulnerable is not the answer.
In 2015, MPs overwhelmingly rejected a change in the law. Even MPs who supported the idea of assisted suicide in principle said they did not believe it is possible to legislate for it without endangering vulnerable Britons. The strong evidence for this position has not changed in the intervening years. In fact, reports from Canada, the Benelux countries, Australia, and the United States, paint a troubling picture of how these laws operate in practice. We would urge MPs to heed critics’ concerns and say no to assisted suicide. There is a better path forward.
Vince Crosby.