Christian and pro-life groups are asking supporters to urge MPs to vote against a resurrected assisted suicide bill, which is due for Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday.
The bill has been put forward as a private member’s bill by Labour MP Lauren Edwards and is virtually identical to a bill put forward by Kim Leadbeater that failed to pass earlier this year.
While the Leadbeater bill made it through the House of Commons it was held up in the Lords by peers concerned about the lack of adequate safeguards. Eventually the bill failed as parliamentary time ran out.
Although brought forward by yet another Labour MP, Labour is by no means united on the issue. While previous Prime Minister Keir Starmer voted in favour of the Leadbeater bill, his successor Andy Burnham is reportedly less keen, signalling that while he supports the idea in principle, it should not be implemented while the care system remains in such a patchy state.
Supporters of the bill have suggested they might try to use the Parliament Act to bypass the House of Lords this time. The Act essentially allows the Commons to overrule the Lords by passing an identical bill twice in a row. Though legal, the powers are rarely used.
Ahead of this Friday’s vote, Ciarán Kelly, Director of the Christian Institute urged MPs to “reject this dangerous proposal”.
“Lauren Edwards’ controversial Bill is identical to Kim Leadbeater’s, allowing adults deemed to have up to six months to live to get help from doctors to kill themselves. This denies the value of every person as an individual made in the image of God and treats vulnerable people as if they are a burden,” he said.
These sentiments were echoed by Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, who said MPs could be on the verge of making a “catastrophic mistake”.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said that the assisted suicide vote was “on a knife edge” and urged supporters to contact their MPs on the issue.
