In the UK, Vulnerable People Are Now More at Risk Than Ever
The Parliament in the UK is currently in consideration of a bill that would legalize and Oregon-style assisted suicide law. On November 29th, the House of Commons, by a narrow vote which was by no means on party lines, voted to allow the bill to proceed to the next step in the process. PRAF is proud to stand with our allies internationally in full solidarity, and we have been helping how we can to help them show their legislators that the Oregon model is full of flaws.
Below is a link to read our entire statement about the UK's vote to move an assisted suicide bill forward. Thankfully, this is not the end of the road for the UK! Several of our allies are working tirelessly to contact MP's and work to expose the flaws and dangers of this bill. With their constant advocacy and the obvious flaws in the bill, we are hopeful that the House of Commons chooses to reject this bill at the upcoming third reading. |
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HIGHLIGHT PIECE OF THE WEEK |
Assisted Suicide Is About My Right to Live |
"The problem is that this law will not and never would have prevented many of those experiences, because it requires two things. The person must have a six month prognosis of death, and mental capacity. Many patients who are at risk of the type of bad death described won’t have either of those. They won’t fit the criteria. So the law won’t help them, and will create risk for others. " |
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UK Assisted Suicide Bill Fails the Public Safety Test
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Angela Guarda, MD, and other experts write this piece in the British Medical Journal: "The question before Parliament is not only whether individuals have the right to die, but whether assisted suicide can be safely implemented within the NHS. Evidence from other countries shows that safeguards intended to protect vulnerable patients from medically-assisted suicide have failed." |
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Disabled People Can't Trust Doctors With Assisted Suicide |
"As someone who relies on the health service and the state for my survival, I simply have a healthy distrust of giving either of them any more power over my life – and death – than they already have. Though some people want the right to die, many of us are still fighting for the right to exist," writes Liz Carr. |
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Palliative Care Must Be Fixed |
A UK resident is concerned with the details of the UK assisted suicide bill proposal. "A man with a terminal brain condition has said the government needs to fix the UK's palliative care system first before legislating assisted dying...'I truly think this bill is an absolute travesty and should not be brought before Parliament." |
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"End Assisted Suicide" is the group of plaintiffs suing the state of California to overturn the Assisted Suicide law there. Our 501(c)(3) sister organization, the Institute for Patients' Rights, has joined this ground-breaking lawsuit as a plaintiff.
We've appealed our case to the 9th Circuit. Click below to learn more about this lawsuit. |
If you’re in crisis, there are options available to help you cope. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at any time to connect with a trained crisis counselor. For confidential support available 24/7 for everyone in the U.S., call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. |
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PRAF is a leading national, non-partisan single-issue organization that protects the rights of patients, people with disabilities, older adults, and other historically underrepresented groups from deadly harm and discrimination inherent in assisted suicide laws. |
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