The Christian Institute has urged believers and supporters not to give up in the campaigns against unrestricted abortion and assisted suicide.
While the House of Commons voted in favour of both measures last month, they must still receive approval from the House of Lords in order to finally become law. The Christian Institute said that despite the setbacks, there was still all to play for, especially on the issue of assisted suicide.
The group noted that support for assisted suicide fell significantly among MPs between its second and final vote in the commons, dropping from a 55 vote majority to one of just 23.
The House of Lords is expected to begin its deliberations on assisted suicide at some point in September. The Christian Institute has urged supporters to contact peers in order to make their views known and urge them to block the bill.
Parliamentary convention dictates that the unelected House of Lords generally does not block government legislation that was promised in an election manifesto.
However such convention does not apply in the case of assisted suicide as it was not promised by the governing Labour party at the last election and is technically a private member's bill, rather than government legislation.
Indeed, Labour is split on the issue, with the Prime Minister Keir Starmer voting in favour of assisted suicide, but his deputy, Angela Rayner, and his health minister, Wes Streeting, both voting against the measure.
The plan to allow medically assisted suicide has also been opposed by various professional bodies.
The Royal College of Pathologists said it was against the bill on purely practical rather than moral grounds, noting that its members were not qualified to review the processes leading up to an assisted suicide.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists took a slightly firmer stance, noting that the law could lead to the suicide of people with treatable mental illnesses.
Ahead of the vote a over 1,000 doctors signed an open letter saying the bill was “deeply flawed” and “not safe” and put vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence, at risk of being coerced into committing suicide with state approval and assistance.
