Campaign launched to stop assisted suicide

 (Photo: iStock/Andrei_R)

A nationwide campaign has been launched in the run-up to the general election asking parliamentary candidates to stand against assisted suicide.

Right to Life UK is mobilising voters to contact their local MP candidates and ask them to sign the End of Life Protection Pledge. 

The pledge asks candidates to commit to protecting the vulnerable by voting against attempts to introduce assisted suicide or euthanasia, and instead endorse properly funded, quality palliative care. 

The campaign has been launched following fresh attempts in Parliament to change the law on assisted suicide. 

Recent polling of MPs by YouGov found that only 35% of MPs support changing the law to allow doctors to assist in the suicide of someone suffering from a terminal illness. 

Polling of doctors specialising in palliative care has also revealed strong opposition the legalisation of assisted suicide - 82% of members of the Association for Palliative Medicine and 83% of doctors surveyed by the British Medical Council are opposed.

Nearly two thirds (62%) of people living with a disability polled by the charity SCOPE expressed concern that a change in the law would lead to increased pressure on people with disabilities to end their lives prematurely.

Half the general population (51%) has expressed concerns about terminally people feeling pressured to end their lives, according to polling by ComRes.

The Vote to Do No Harm is asking MPs to commit to plugging the £77m funding gap currently faced by hospices across the country to ensure that terminally ill people have access to quality palliative care at the end of their lives.

A 2022 briefing to Parliament estimated that some 100,000 people are unable to access the palliative care they need each year.  

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: "In the next Parliament, we expect the assisted suicide lobby to return with new attempts to introduce assisted suicide.

"We are urging voters to engage with their local MP candidates and advocate for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society this election.

"There is currently a major gap in the provision of palliative care services in the United Kingdom. It is estimated that over 100,000 people who need palliative care die each year without receiving it.

"The UK needs properly funded high-quality palliative care for those at the end of their life, not assisted suicide."

News
Iran’s unyielding cry: from economic collapse to the fall of the theocracy
Iran’s unyielding cry: from economic collapse to the fall of the theocracy

The revolt and ensuing violence in Iran should not surprise anyone who truly values fundamental civil rights. 

Catholic bishops push for two-state solution to restore peace to the Holy Land
Catholic bishops push for two-state solution to restore peace to the Holy Land

Praise was given to all those who work for peace, on both sides of the conflict.

Pakistan: Christian nurses acquitted of blasphemy
Pakistan: Christian nurses acquitted of blasphemy

A district court ruled that the prosecution failed to substantiate the charge.

Jordan in talks with evangelical leaders to boost pilgrimage ahead of Jesus baptism anniversary
Jordan in talks with evangelical leaders to boost pilgrimage ahead of Jesus baptism anniversary

Jordan has in recent months accelerated preparations at key Christian sites, including Bethany Beyond the Jordan.