The second reading in the House of Lords for a private members Bill on assisted suicide is set to take place. The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill proposes to make it legal for doctors to prescribe drugs to a terminally ill person in order for them to take their own life.
The Bill was put forward for consideration by the former human rights lawyer, Lord Joffe, but has been widely criticised by health professionals who have said that the Bill would seriously endanger the rights of the people it is supposed to aid.Andrea Williams of the Lawyer’s Christian Fellowship has said, “If the law is changed to allow 'assisted dying' it is inevitable that emotional and financial pressures will be brought to bear on vulnerable people. The sick, frail or elderly often feel a burden on relatives, carers and a society short of resources. A law allowing assisted suicide would place them under huge pressure and no amount of safeguards would ever adequately protect the vulnerable.”
The Bill is scheduled to be up for a public reading on 12th May, according to Premier Radio. At that time the Bill will pass through without a vote taking place, and will be put forward before the committee stage, where it will be considered by the House of Lords.
Christian charity, CARE has been one if the most active organisations fighting the Bill; gathering protestors throughout the UK to unite against the proposals, and have even made it possible for people to voice their opposition to the Bill via their mobile phones and computers.
The campaign comes as part of CARE’s ‘Life Valued Campaign’, which has seen many supporters gathering across Britain focusing on exposing and educating the public on some of the most widely believed “myths” about euthanasia.
Hundreds of Christians have gathered in Sheffield, Ballymena, Leeds, Bourne, Bournemouth, Warwick and Durham in opposition to the Bill, and more meetings are planned for the near future.
Each of the meetings have featured key talks from CARE’s Head of UK and Church Development, Mike Simmonds, who has given multimedia presentations and interviews and united with special guests on a number of occasions.Joni Eareckson Tada, the quadriplegic speaker and writer who has opposed euthanasia measures in America, has spoken out powerfully against the Euthanasia Bill.
