DearSPUC supporter
On Friday, I updated you on the first day of debate at Second Reading in the House of Lords of the assisted suicide Bill. It was very encouraging how many peers spoke against the Bill – a ratio of two to one.
The debate continues this Friday. A vote on the principle of the Bill is considered unlikely at this stage, but there may be votes on amendments to do with procedure. Baroness Berger has tabled an amendment calling for the Bill to be referred to a select committee, to take evidence from witnesses.
As I say, the debate so far has been encouraging. It was also very encouraging to hear multiple peers referring to the letters they have been getting from members of the public. Lord Hacking said: “I have received lots of communications on the Bill, both in the post and by email. In my case, every one of these communications—except the paper by the sponsors of this Bill, which I hold in my hand—was against the Bill. I did not count them all, but there must be up to 50.”
Lord Bridges of Headley said that he does not think “the Bill in its current state meets the exacting standards we should demand of it” because “I have been receiving emails and letters raising specific points of concern about numerous aspects of it.”
We at SPUC have often encouraged supporters to send physical paper letters wherever possible. The effectiveness of this approach was confirmed in remarks by Lord Rees of Easton, which you can watch here:
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