More than 8,000 people have signed the national petition opposing a Bill which could make euthanasia legal in the UK.

|TOP|The petition will be presented to 10 Downing Street before noon on May 12, the day the Bill is to be debated in the House of Lords. Following that, opponents of the Bill will hold a rally outside the House of Lords to protest against the legislation.

Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South and Chairman of the Care Not Killing Campaign, said: “This is just the latest step in a massive, nationwide campaign against this deeply flawed and immoral Bill.

“We are encouraging everyone to stand up and be counted in the fight against the legalisation of assisted suicide over the next few crucial days. I therefore urge people to get involved in order to let parliament know what ordinary people think — every individual protest really matters now!” The petition is available online here.

In other news, Christian charity CARE has been gathering protestors throughout the UK to unite and fight against the proposed euthanasia bill via their mobile phones and computers.

|AD|A new text and online petition campaign has been launched by the leading Christian organisations, in a firm drive to ensure that Lord Joffe’s Assisted Dying For the Terminally Ill Bill is rejected in Parliament.

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.

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. 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.