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Dear SPUC supporter,
MPs have just voted for Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill to progress to the House of Lords. MPs voted by 314 to 291 at Third Reading.
It is very disappointing that, despite the growing evidence of problems with this Bill, MPs have voted to progress this Bill. They have abdicated their responsibility to scrutinise legislation effectively and make sure the most vulnerable are protected.
But we will not give up. The majority since November has been halved, and the Bill still faces an uphill battle to clear all parliamentary stages.
Any move to legalise assisted suicide opens the door to coercion, abuse, and the wholesale devaluation of life itself – risks that have been well documented in countries where assisted suicide is already legal.
This Bill is already unsafe, the much-vaunted High Court safeguard was dropped in favour of a panel that doesn’t even have to talk to the patient or a concerned family who want to challenge an assisted death. MPs have even failed to close a loophole that could lead to people with eating disorders being offered a state-sponsored death.
These flaws are why the majority voting in favour was much smaller than in November. We will now lobby the House of Lords to pick up the ball which the Commons have dropped and subject the Bill to the real scrutiny such a serious issue deserves and reject it.
Thank you so much for all the work you have put it over the course of this campaign. I have been stunned and humbled by the engagement of supporters with this Bill, and how hard you have worked. SPUC is at its core a grassroots organisation and our members are our greatest strength; this has never been clearer than during this Bill.
Thank you for standing side by side with us, especially during this very tough week for the pro-life cause.
With best wishes,
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