An assisted suicide Bill was not put to a vote on Friday in the House of Lords following mass opposition from Peers with over 60 members speaking against it.
The debate, which went for over seven hours, followed a very large amount of media coverage and opinion pieces from MPs, Peers, doctors, and other experts that have appeared over the last two weeks highlighting major issues with introducing assisted suicide. This has included nearly 1,700 medical professionals coming out in opposition to the Bill and an investigation by the Daily Mail into the assisted suicide process overseas, revealing that the use of fatal drugs to end life can be a harrowing experience over hours or days for the person involved.
Among the opposition, Lord David Alton said the same unanswered questions about the risks to vulnerable people remain.
“In truth, what are described as safeguards are simply a wish list for what its sponsors hope would happen in an ideal world”.
“It would be profoundly irresponsible to enact legislation without knowing how many putative safeguards might work. Asking us to do otherwise is like asking Parliament to sign a blank cheque.”