On Friday the 11th of September the UK House of Commons debated MP Rob Marris' assisted suicide bill over five hours. UK MPs are not bound to attend parliament for 'Private Member's business'; so part of the difficulty in predicting an outcome is not only about finding out MPs intentions on any bill, but also about whether they intend to turn up on the day.As the debate began some 240 of the chamber's 650 members were in attendance with 85 of that number indicating a desire to speak to the bill.Marris' bill was a copy of the bill debated in the House of Lords prior to the British national elections. That bill, presented by Lord Falconer, passed at second reading and was modified by amendments before ultimately failing for lack of time. Common to many parliaments using the Westminster system, the upper houses tend to allow bills to pass at second reading to allow the extension of debate into the committee stage where amendments are possible. On Friday, the Commons was clearly in no mood to extend such courtesy.Friday's debate was marked by many commentators as a high-point in formal debating, in courtesy and in passion while absent the kind of cross-chamber argy-bargy characteristics normal in party politics. Opportunity was given to backbenchers to speak with few ministers or shadow ministers in the chamber. While some who spoke against the bill noted their attachment to 'sanctity-of-life' principles that suggested opposition based on religious conviction, the vast majority of those that spoke against the bill did so for practical reasons. Contrary to the popular myths, few seemed to be captive to ideology and most demonstrated clearly that they were not 'out-of-touch' with their community._vDddc-j4BA Continue reading

There's a real and very natural tendency when societies and groups within societies coalesce on one side or the other of a current debate to try to 'pidgeon-hole' the opposition. It can be simply a way of trying to come to 'know thine enemy'or, at worst, it can be about creating a slur upon the 'otherside' for the sake of justifying one's own position. Opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide is no different. 'Religious fundamentalists', 'God-botherers', 'right-to-lifers', 'arch-conservatives', the list of pejoratives is extensive as it is colourful. The raison d'etre should be obvious: if opposition only comes from this small cohort, of perhaps even only a small number within this small cohort, then their concerns are easily dismissed. 'They don't represent everybody and, well, we all know that God bothering conservatives are an antiquarian anomaly in our modern world. We mustn't be held back by the rabid few.'However, of all the social issues of the last half-century, euthanasia and assisted suicide, I would argue is the issue least identifiable in such terms. Worldwide, coalitions of people 'in-the-front-line' of opposition include many who identify as political progressives or athiests, agnostics etc., many with opposing political affilliations and those with none. Continue reading

By Alex SchadenbergExecutive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Liz Carr is an actress and disability campaigner in the UK. Carr is a spokesperson for Not Dead Yet UKITV news published an article on August 14 by Liz Carr. She explains that she is not religious and she is not "anti-choice," but she works with Not Dead Yet to oppose the legalization of assisted suicide. She explains: Continue reading

by Kevin Yuill. This article was first published at Spiked-Online. A shocking case shows that assisted suicide is about more than alleviating suffering.In his sharply observed book The Culture of Narcissism, the American social critic Christopher Lasch remarked that, in modern life, 'The usual defences against the ravages of age - identification with ethical or artistic values beyond one's immediate interests, intellectual curiosity, the consoling emotional warmth derived from happy relationships in the past - can do nothing for the narcissist'. In a generation that has forgotten that it stands in the midst of a long line of past and future generations, Lasch noted, many live 'for the feeling, the momentary illusion, of personal wellbeing, health, and psychic security'. Continue reading

By Dr Peter Saunders, Campaign Director of CareNotKilling UK Last week I was contacted by the Sunday Times who were planning to run a high profile story about a 75 year old retired nurse being helped to kill herself in Switzerland.The story of Gill Pharaoh's death was later published last Sunday under the title 'Why I'd rather die than get old'(Paywall). Continue reading

Prime Minister, The Rt Hon David Cameron, MP 14 July 2015Dear Prime Minister Continue reading

This report from Peter Saunders' UK blog: Disabled people descended on Westminster today (14th July) in droves to lobby MPs on Rob Marris's Assisted Dying (no 2) Bill.Marris wants to give adults who are terminally ill and mentally competent the 'right' to have assistance to kill themselves using lethal drugs on the say-so of two doctors and one high court judge. The bill is due its second reading on 11 September. Continue reading

Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick OBE, Director of Hope Ireland, published on the Hope Ireland's blog. Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor's recent research results[1] are extremely important.As Baroness Helena Kennedy QC said in a public debate (Southbank, January 28 2012), 'This is about the kind of society we want to live in'. Continue reading