Relief as peers reject 'underhand' move to introduce assisted suicide legislation

Christian campaigners have expressed their relief after the House of Lords voted down an "underhand" attempt to introduce assisted suicide legislation.

An amendment to the Health and Care Bill was lodged by Lord Forsyth and would have forced ministers to bring forward a bill.

It was rejected by 179 votes to 145 on Wednesday evening.

Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE, called the amendment "highly cynical".

"First, it sought to use vital health and care proposals as a Trojan horse. And second, it sought to force the government's hand on a highly contentious matter that should rightly be left to parliament," he said.

"Campaigners are seeking to exclude important voices from this debate – particularly disabled groups, the elderly, and those experiencing terminal illness. And they are evading clear evidence about the dangers of 'assisted dying', shown clearly in other jurisdictions."

CARE has been campaigning against attempts to change the law on assisted suicide.

Hendry said that legalising the practice would place "invisible pressure" on the sick and vulnerable, and that promised "safeguards" would be "ineffective" as laws "are inevitably widened over time".

"We recognise that there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate concerning 'assisted dying', and that many proponents are motivated by compassion," he said.

"However, unsafe, and unethical interventions are not the answer. The prescription of lethal drugs is not a moral response to suffering and permitting it would undermine the safety, dignity, and equality of many groups."

Ciarán Kelly, of The Christian Institute, said the defeat of the amendment to the Health and Care Bill was "a great result".

"This is now the twelfth time since 1997 that proposals for assisted suicide related laws have not been passed by UK Parliamentarians," he said.

"It stops a real threat to the lives of vulnerable people in its tracks. No one should be put under pressure to end their life for fear of being a financial, emotional or care burden on others."

News
Christians take issue with 'one-sided' engagement over conversion therapy ban
Christians take issue with 'one-sided' engagement over conversion therapy ban

LGBT groups have the ear of the Scottish government.

2,700 conversions recorded as Germany’s Free Evangelical Churches report renewed growth
2,700 conversions recorded as Germany’s Free Evangelical Churches report renewed growth

Baptisms and conversions have risen across Germany’s Federation of Free Evangelical Churches, as new figures suggest congregational life has largely rebounded after the setbacks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The book that changed Sweden: 500 years of the Swedish New Testament
The book that changed Sweden: 500 years of the Swedish New Testament

2026 is the 500th anniversary of the first New Testament in Swedish. This is the story …

Catholic Church 'deeply disturbed' by Greens call for complete abortion decriminalisation
Catholic Church 'deeply disturbed' by Greens call for complete abortion decriminalisation

The Catholic Church in Scotland has said it is “deeply disturbed” by the Scottish Green Party’s call for the complete decriminalisation of abortion.