Campaigners are attempting to hijack a Government Healthcare bill in order to introduce assisted suicide. SPUC’s Alithea Williams says this is an “outrageous attempt to introduce assisted suicide by the backdoor, which must not go unchallenged.”

Conservative Peer Lord Forsyth has lodged an amendment to the Health and Care Bill that would require Ministers to bring forward ‘Assisted Dying’ legislation within a year of the Act coming into force:

The amendment states:

“The Secretary of State must, within the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, lay before Parliament a draft bill to permit terminally ill, mentally competent adults legally to end their own lives with medical assistance”.

Baroness Meacher, whose Assisted Dying Bill is currently before the House of Lords, has also tabled an amendment to the Health and Care Bill. It is less explicit than Lord Forsyth’s, but is also an attempt to weaken the legal prohibition on assisting patients to end their lives.

“The Government has consistently said that it does not intend to bring legislation on so-called assisted dying, which it says is a matter for Parliament to decide via a free vote,” SPUC Public Policy Manager Alithea Williams explains. “We therefore expect that Government will oppose these amendments. However, this outrageous attempt to introduce assisted suicide by the backdoor must not go unchallenged. We are asking supporters to write to Lords, asking them to oppose these amendments, and all other attempts to introduce assisted suicide.”

Write to peers

Information on how to write to Peers can be found here.

Baroness Meacher’s amendment is expected to be debated on Thursday 20 January, and Lord Forsyth’s on Wednesday 26 January.