Efforts to see assisted suicide introduced in Britain will continue even if a Bill currently before parliament falls next week, anti-euthanasia campaigners have warned.
Speaking ahead of a second committee stage of the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords on January 16, campaigners expect that the proposed legislation will fall foul of the limited parliamentary term remaining, preventing its passage before the general election this May.
While this may be a cause of celebration among those who oppose both assisted suicide and euthanasia, observers have warned that a similar Bill can be expected during the administration of the next parliament.
“It’s good news of course that it’s unlikely to be passed this time around,” said Alistair Thompson of Care not Killing, an advocacy group opposing the Bill, “but the people who are pushing for this change…are very powerful parliamentary figures and are likely to continue with their efforts to get this measure passed.”
First introduced by Lord Falconer in June 2014, the Assisted Suicide Bill seeks to make it legal for adults in England and Wales to be given assistance ending their own life, specifically applicable to those with less than six months to live. Towards this, two doctors would have to independently confirm the patient was terminally ill and had reached their own, informed decision to die.
When tabled before the House of Lords last year, the Bill prompted a nine-hour debate and led to a call from the Church of England for a full inquiry into the issue. This call was made amid conflicting claims of the level of support in Britain for assisted suicide and following the voicing of his own support for the Bill by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey. His successor, Archbishop Justin Welby, described the Bill as “mistaken and dangerous”.
“There’s a real need for vigilance in the next parliament,” Alistair Thompson said, “The danger period is likely to be two to three years in, that’s when we could see another concerted effort to bring in this law.”