MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was published in full on 11 November. The proposed law would grant assisted suicide to terminally ill adults. SPUC slammed the Bill law as being “inherently dangerous”.
Mr Streeting, who says he will vote against the Bill, told Times Radio that giving patients a so-called choice to die “would come at the expense of other choices”.
“To govern is to choose”, the Health Secretary continued. “If parliament chooses to go ahead with assisted dying, it is making a choice that this is an area to prioritise for investment. And we’d have to work through those implications.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Mr Streeting also reiterated his “concerns about coercion, and how people might be coerced into taking their own lives… [not] just through malevolent intentions on the part of people with a vested interest… but also the extent to which people might feel themselves to be a burden on their loved ones”.
In September, the Labour MP also “coerced” into assisted suicide that “I do not think that palliative care, end-of-life care in this country is in a condition yet where we are giving people the freedom to choose, without being coerced by the lack of support available”.
“A Disaster Waiting To Happen”
Daniel Frampton, SPUC’s Editorial Officer, said: “At a time when the NHS is already said to be in ‘crisis’, it would be an act of madness to divert already scarce resources away from health services, especially palliative care. Assisted suicide is a disaster waiting to happen.
“Doctors who care for dying patients are overwhelmingly against assisted suicide, and for good reason. The Leadbeater Bill could critically undermine an already ‘woefully underfunded’ health service, leading in turn to more heartbreak and premature deaths.
“Rather than offering death to vulnerable citizens, which is no choice at all, MPs must reject this dangerous Bill and ensure that patients receive the care that they desperately need.”
TAKE ACTION: Lobby Your MP NOW
SPUC encourages supporters and all people opposed to assisted suicide to lobby their MP now, asking them to oppose Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill.
Over half of MPs are new to Parliament and have not voted on this issue before. Many have not even thought about it, and they will be getting barrages of messages from the other side – we must make sure our voice is heard.
A which SPUC is opposing to help you do this. Enter your postcode to find out who your MP is, write your message, and press send.
SPUC is not providing a template text at this stage, as politicians appreciate genuine, heartfelt messages over copied-and-pasted content. MPs soon recognise if they are receiving identical communications copied and pasted from templates or campaign websites.
For a terrifying insight into the threat that assisted suicide poses to people with disability, watch Liz Carr’s documentary Better Off Dead? – Better Off Dead? on the BBC’s iPlayer.
SPUC has also compiled stories of ordinary people opposed to assisted suicide, which you can access here for free online.
