Praise God: Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill defeated.

Published: May 15th, 2006

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- End of life

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them upon your children’ Deuteronomy 6. What a privilege we carry to walk in the light of the Lord’s commandments. We praise God that He answered our prayers as we sought to confess life not death, truth not lies, hope not despair at the heart of our political process in order to defeat this Bill. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have prayed and responded to the call for action in these past weeks. ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!’ Ephesians 3.

On Friday 12 May the House of Lords rejected Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill by 148 votes to 100. Some 90 members of the House of Lords spoke in the debate on the Bill, including many disabled peers and peers with medical and legal backgrounds. The majority of peers who spoke were against the proposed law. A link to Hansard and the debate is as follows:- http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldhansrd/pdvn/ lds06/text/60512-01.htm#60512-01_head2

We thank God that this Bill, which we believe would have been the thin end of the wedge towards legalising euthanasia, was rejected.

We thank God for the way in which Christian groups, prolife groups and disability groups worked effectively together under the alliance of Care Not Killing. Hundred of people came to Parliament to protest against the bill and it was an amazing sight to see the Archbishop of Canterbury and several other Bishops with the disabled rights activists being filmed together by the BBC at the Protest. A petition of over 100,000 names was delivered to 10 Downing Street.

However, Lord Joffe and Dignity in Dying (formerly The Voluntary Euthanasia Society) have pledged to reintroduce his bill in the next session of parliament, and so our work must continue.

During the debate, Lord Joffe, who proposed the bill, said: "We must find a solution to the unbearable suffering of patients whose needs cannot be met by palliative care." Lord Carlile said: "Everybody ... knows that those who are moving this bill have the clear intention of it leading to voluntary euthanasia." Baroness Finlay said: "In letting this bill proceed, we give a message to the world that we will abandon the vulnerable and treat suffering by ending the sufferer's life. Let us get on with working for patients to live as well as possible until a naturally dignified death, not taken up with becoming complicit with suicide." Lord Winston, the medic and broadcaster, described how his mother had suffered from dementia yet had recently become more aware and was enjoying life again. He said he opposed the bill. Lord Alton of Liverpool warned of the bad effects of suicide on families and society at large. Mr David Cameron MP, the leader of the opposition Conservative party, sent a message to the house in which he disagreed with the bill. His party's peers were nevertheless allowed a free vote on it. Lord McColl, Conservative health spokesman, mentioned Ms Alison Davis of No Less Human during the debate. Some years ago she had attempted suicide, but was now pleased that there had not then been a law like the one proposed by Lord Joffe otherwise she would no longer be alive. She was living the best years of her life and had amazing purpose in them. She along with many others in the Care Not Killing Alliance did a great deal of media interviews

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and the Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth co-signed a letter published in The Times

Newspaper 12/05. They wrote: "Were such a law enacted, the elderly, lonely, sick or distressed would find themselves under pressure, real or imagined, to ask for an early death. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that economic pressures might not come to play a significant part in determining whether to treat or recommend assisted death."

Below is a list of links to the media coverage over the weekend. Please continue to respond for the debate continues and we need to keep on educating the public on this issue and the dangers of such legislation.

Who decides when we die with dignity?

May 15, 2006, The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-2180659,00.html

The big issue: assisted dying
Sunday May 14, 2006
The Observer

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,1774386,00.html

Lords vote to block assisted suicide bill for terminally ill

Will Woodward, chief political correspondent
Saturday May 13, 2006
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1773880,00.html

Peers split as assisted dying Bill is derailed
By Graeme Wilson, Political Correspondent
(Filed: 13/05/2006), The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/13/neuth13.xml

The Daily Telegraph Letters, Monday 15 May, 2006

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/05/15/dt1501.xml