Pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has urged supporters to write to members of the House of Lords ahead of the next debate on the legalisation of medically assisted suicide.
Although MPs voted narrowly in favour of the proposal in June, assisted suicide must still pass through the House of Lords and receive Royal Assent if it is to become law.
Traditionally, the House of Lords does not significantly oppose government legislation that was part of the governing party’s election manifesto. However, assisted suicide does not fall into this category.
The bill currently being considered is a private member's bill brought by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and was not part of Labour’s election manifesto, making it possible for the Lords to vote it down.
The Labour government is itself divided on the issue, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer voting for the bill, but Health Secretary Wes Streeting opposing it.
The Lords is due to debate the bill on Friday. Already more than 200 peers have put their names forward to speak in the debate, leading the government to allow a second day of debate on 19 September.
SPUC and similar groups had previously urged supporters to write physical letters to peers, both because they are more impactful and simply because many peers do not have publicly available email addresses.
SPUC said that due to the limited time available before the debate, it is now encouraging supporters to write emails and has produced a tool to help the process.
The bill making its way through Westminster is one of a number of similar proposals being considered by legislators across the UK and further afield.
A separate bill is currently passing through the Scottish Parliament and the island territory of Jersey is looking to implement assisted suicide. Earlier this year, the Isle of Man became the first place in the British Isles to approve proposals to legalise assisted suicide. France and Slovenia have similar proposals in progress.
Assisted suicide is currently legal in a number of jurisdictions, including in Canada and parts of Australia and the US.
Critics have pointed particularly to Canada as proof that concerns about lax safeguards and expanding eligibility for assisted suicide are not “thin end of the wedge” fallacies, but have actually come to pass.
