Senedd members have rejected a non-binding motion supporting an assisted suicide law. SPUC has called the result a “significant” victory for vulnerable people who would be targeted by such a law.

On 23 October, Senedd members voted 26 to 19 against a motion supporting an assisted suicide law for England and Wales. There were nine abstentions.

Among the MSs who voted against the motion were First Minister Eluned Morgan and Health Minister Jeremy Miles. The motion proposed that assisted suicide should be permitted for adults suffering intolerably from an incurable physical illness.

MS Delyth Jewell of Plaid Cymru spoke against assisted suicide, stating: “My fear with this motion, my terror is not so much with how it will begin but how it will end…

“For many disabled people or people who are not close to their family, people who are worried, anxious and lonely it would leave them to feeling they have no choice but to end their life.”

MS Sam Rowlands also warned about the “slippery slope”, pointing to the example of Canada. “It’s a very, very real situation in other places all around the world, and I fear that that would be exactly the same in this country”, he said.

A demonstration co-organised by SPUC was held outside the Senedd building in Cardiff before the vote.

MPs at Westminster will soon vote on Kim Leadbeater’s proposed assisted suicide law for England and Wales. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has already indicated that he will not support the Bill because of the poor state of the NHS.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “This is a significant step towards rejecting assisted suicide throughout the UK. When people see where such laws lead, the dangers become clearer and more frightening.

“The facts about assisted suicide are finally coming out, dispelling the myth that it is about ‘choice’ and ‘compassion’. SPUC is working hard with other organisations around the UK to ensure that there is a true debate in which the truth is finally heard.

“Politicians must protect vulnerable citizens from this false idea of mercy that will ultimately usher thousands of patients into early graves.”

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