A number of peers belonging to the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group(APPHG) argued strongly for a change in the law on the prosecution of assisted suicide last night. The debate followed a question from Baroness Jay of Paddington on whether the Government continue to be satisfied with the DPPs guidelines on prosecution for assisted suicide.
Conservative Justice Minister Lord Faulks noted how the desirability of legislative change remained “deeply divided” but that encouraging or assisting suicide remains a criminal offence and highlighted that the DPP’s policy was clear that each case was considered on its own facts and circumstances.
With the issue now on our soap operas and discussed in the tabloid press, Chair of the APPHG Lord Warner made this call to the Government: “it should stop listening to the noisy minority or opponents and start listening to the majority of our fellow citizens who want to see a change in the law in this area. The cruelty of making terminally ill people prolong their lives when they wish not to and then threatening to prosecute their relatives who help them to secure the peaceful end they see is increasingly seen for what it is: barbaric.”
Lord Dubs argued that the guidelines do not provide the peace of mind and certainty that a dying person is entitled to. He pointed to opinion polls consistently demanding a change in the law and argued that with the correct safeguards any change in the law “does not represent a slippery slope but a considered change that Parliament has approved”.
Lord Joffe addressed concerns over mental capacity but argued that the “law needs to be changed in order to prevent unnecessary suffering and to conform with the views of society”.
Lord Craigavon urged Parliament to be courageous in the face of figures showing at least 80% support in the population for assisted dying. He noted “for me, it is a continuing matter of shame that our fellow countrymen and women still have to go to Switzerland to avail themselves of what should be possible in this country”. Baroness Meacher also pointed to support for assisted dying from both disabled and religious groups.
The BHA has actively supported legal cases seeking the right to an assisted death. In December the BHA presented evidence in the Supreme Court in support of Paul Lamb, immobilised after a road accident and seeking the right to an assisted death; Jane Nicklinson, the widow of Tony Nicklinson, who also sought an assisted death; and a claimant known as ‘Martin’ in the same position seeking clarification on the DPP’s guidelines on prosecutions on this issue.
In its evidence, the BHA has submitted that, ‘Being able to die, with dignity, in a manner of our choosing must be understood to be a fundamental human right…Our position is that the right to choose when to die is inextricable linked to the right to life”.
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For further comment or information contact BHA Head of Public Affairs on 0773 8435059 or at pavan@humanists.uk.
Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on ‘assisted dying’:
https://humanists.uk/campaigns/public-ethical-issues/assisted-dying/
Read more about the BHA’s work in supporting the Paul Lamb/Tony Nicholson legal case
Polling showing 81% of public support assisted dying;
http://humanists.uk/2012/09/07/news-1108/
The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.