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Dear SPUC supporter,
I wanted to write and give you an update on the progress of the assisted suicide bill. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill, sponsored by Kim Leadbeater MP, finished its Committee stage in the early hours of this morning. The updated version of the Bill will now be reported back to the House of Commons.
As you’ll know from our ongoing coverage, this Committee has been a disgrace – it was stacked with supporters of the Bill and refused to hear from key stakeholders, the promised sign-off by a High Court Judge has been scrapped, and amendments protecting people with Down’s syndrome and the rights of hospices to opt out were voted down. An MP opposing the Bill was even forced to leave early after the Committee was unexpectedly forced to sit until 10pm, meaning her hearing aids had run out of battery.
In a sign of her determination to push this through, Ms Leadbeater kept the Committee sitting until past midnight last night. In a bid to reassure MPs worried by the general chaos of the process, she tabled a last-minute amendment specifying that the Bill needn’t come into effect for four years, instead of two. In a sign of her loosing her grip over the process, an amendment specifying that the Bill would not be implemented in Wales without the approval of the Senedd was passed – the first and only amendment passed without the sponsor’s support.
What happens next?
The Report stage of the Bill, where MPs have a last chance to table amendments, is expected to take place on 25th April. It was previously thought that the all-important final vote at Third Reading would take place the same day, but now our best intelligence is that Report Stage will run for another day, leaving the vote to be held on or after 16 May. I appreciate that this isn’t as precise as we would like, but it’s a feature of the parliamentary system that dates change, and we often have very little notice of when a debate or vote will be. Keep checking our emails to keep up to date!
What have SPUC been doing?
As well as monitoring the progress of the Committee, the Campaigns and Grassroots teams have been travelling across the country, holding local meetings in constituencies where the MP might be swayed to vote against the Bill. We have been really encouraged by the turn-out and engagement, from Gateshead to Plymouth, Hazel Grove to Tooting. We have more such meetings coming up, including a special one in Middlesbrough with guest speaker Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. Do look at our list of upcoming events, to see if there is one near you. And if you would like to help organise one in your area, do get in touch (with Katherine Hampton in the South of England and Wales, Terry Graham in the North, and Josh Coghill in Scotland).
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SPUC's Maureen Martin speaks to supporters in Hazel Grove at our Lives Worth Living meeting, Thursday 20th March
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What can I do?
The key thing is to lobby your MP to vote against the Bill at Third Reading. To win this, we need just 28 MPs who voted for the Bill in November to change their vote and oppose it at Third Reading. And, of course, we need to make sure that the MPs who voted the right way before do so again. So wherever your MP stands, please do all you can to lobby him/her.
The most highly effective way of lobbying is to go and see your MP in person. We have produced a guide to help you to do this.
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If this is not something you are able to do, then please keep contacting your MP by letter or email. A handwritten letter will have the most impact. Letters should be sent to:
[MP name] MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
We also have resources to help you with this.
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You can also use our online tool to contact your MP.
We only have a few short weeks to defeat this terrifying Bill. We have the momentum in this campaign – according to a national newspaper, “Multiple sources said the anti-assisted dying campaign had been much more organised than the pro campaign” – but we cannot be complacent. Please act now to keep the vulnerable safe from state-sanctioned suicide.
With best wishes
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Alithea Williams
Public Policy Manager
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PS: another way to put pressure on your MP is to get others contacting them, through distributing our door to door leaflet. You can order copies here.
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