Vulnerable people will be at increased risk if assisted suicide is legalised, says Danny Kruger

 (Photo: Getty/iStock)

Danny Kruger MP has warned against legalising assisted suicide and called instead for greater investment in palliative care.

The MP for Devizes takes an opposing view from his mother, Great British Bake-Off presenter, Prue Leith.

Their disagreement on this issue was covered in a documentary for Channel 4 called Prue and Danny's Death Road Trip in which they travelled around parts of North America where the practice is already legal.

Writing in The Telegraph, Kruger said his mum was "wrong" about assisted suicide and the belief that it is possible to "draw a tight legislative line" around the people who would be eligible. 

"My concern is for the far larger number of people who are lonely, depressed, or sadly aware of being a burden to their family and the NHS," he said.

"I think you can't draw a line that will protect them, and I know that modern healthcare, delivered well, can alleviate the physical pain of everyone approaching death. No-one needs to die in unbearable agony." 

He expressed concern about the effect on people in society with "the least agency" and said that the evidence in places like Oregon, which has legal assisted suicide, suggests that the conditions for eligibility are likely to expand.

"The danger posed by assisted suicide is not to people who are used to controlling their lives, who have money and the ability to get what they want from doctors," he said.

"It is to the people whose usual experience is being victimised, whether by social prejudice or by the healthcare system through a callous concern over costs.

"This is not scaremongering. Across the world where assisted suicide is legal, the weak, vulnerable, disabled and the mentally unwell are swept into its net.

"Most chillingly, in every jurisdiction, young people with anorexia qualify to be prescribed fatal drugs to end their lives." 

He called instead for political energy to be focused on improving palliative care, saying that current provision across the UK was "scandalously patchy".

"That - not a law that gives the state the power to decide that some people are better off dead - would be the progressive thing to do," he said.

News
Sarah Mullally reiterates apology as safeguarding record comes under the spotlight
Sarah Mullally reiterates apology as safeguarding record comes under the spotlight

The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, has come under pressure over her handling of past safeguarding cases. 

Evangelical vicar accused of abuse won't stand trial
Evangelical vicar accused of abuse won't stand trial

A leading figure among conservative evangelical Anglicans will not stand trial for alleged abuse, it has emerged.

Church of England bishops delay final decision on same-sex blessings
Church of England bishops delay final decision on same-sex blessings

The Church of England's House of Bishops has postponed a final decision on the Living in Love and Faith process as it continues to work on proposals. 

Faith in the festive chaos: how you can sustain your family’s faith this Christmas
Faith in the festive chaos: how you can sustain your family’s faith this Christmas

Anna Hawken, Parenting for Faith from BRF Ministries, has some helpful tips for families to connect with God in the midst of the "December tornado".