Members of the House of Lords have joined the chorus of complaints to the BBC for showing a man take his own life for the first time on terrestrial television. The programme, Choosing to Die, was shown on BBC 2 on 13 June, and included scenes of a British man taking his own life in a Dignitas clinic in Switzerland.
Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Lord Alton of Liverpool and Lord Carlile of Berriew, QC, wrote a letter to BBC director-general Mark Thompson expressing their outrage at what they view as the Corporation’s bias on the issue of assisted suicide.
The letter stated: “Setting aside our repugnance that the death of a patient with motor neurone disease should be turned into a form of voyeuristic entertainment, the BBC has a duty to provide balanced debate.
“It is not the job of the Corporation to become a lobbying organisation or a cheerleader for those who wish to change the law.
“From the BBC’s coverage few viewers would realise that Parliament has had three votes in the House of Lords, following two full Select Committee inquiries, and that on all three occasions, attempts to change the law have been lost by a significant margin.
“The BBC, however, seems indifferent to parliamentary opposition, or the views of those who oppose a change in the law on grounds of public safety or for ethical reasons.”
The letter comes after 898 viewers complained to the BBC about the programme, at least ten times as many as those who expressed approval to the BBC.
Alistair Thompson, a spokesman for Care Not Killing, warned of ‘copycat suicides’ in the wake of the screening: “This is pro-assisted suicide propaganda loosely dressed up as a documentary. The evidence is that the more you portray this, the more suicides you will have."
The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, also characterised the programme as propaganda for the pro-assisted dying cause: “I think an opportunity has been bypassed of having a balanced programme – the thousands of people who use the hospice movement and who have a good and peaceful death, there was very little about them.
"This was really propaganda on one side. Life is a gift and it has infinite value and we are not competent to take it, we do not have the right to take it, except perhaps in the most extreme circumstances of protecting the weak.”
Christian Concern alerted its supporters to the screening of the programme on Monday and urged them to lodge complaints with the BBC.
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“It is encouraging to hear voices of criticism from leading public figures as well as ordinary viewers. The BBC should not have aired this programme and the volume and content of these complaints demonstrates this.
“As well as the inappropriateness of a public broadcaster giving a platform to an assisted suicide campaigner, it is irresponsible in view of the well-documented phenomenon of copycat suicides.
“It can only be right that a programme quickly follows which details the benefits of palliative care which so many people in this country greatly appreciate.”
The BBC denied it was biased on the issue and a spokesman said that the programme was “giving people the chance to make their own minds up on the issue”.
Article by Peter Norris
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