Our friends in the United Kingdom are facing a difficult battle to prevent the legalization of assisted suicide. While the bill’s passage was at one point believed to be all but a forgone conclusion, there has been new life injected into the fight. Thanks to the hard work of pro-life advocates around the world, Parliament is at a crossroads, and many believe the bill may be defeated.
While it is too early to confidently predict the bills eventual fate, we can know beyond doubt that what happens in the United Kingdom will impact the world. With each major nation that legally permits its citizens to be killed, the sanctity of life is further eroded on the international stage. If instead, the United Kingdom can repel the spread of assisted suicide, it will embolden other nations to follow their lead and defend life.
In June of this year, the House of Commons narrowly voted the bill through, marking a significant step toward legalizing assisted suicide. That vote sent the measure to the House of Lords.
During the House of Lords debate in September, we were pleasantly surprised to see a shift toward life. Many peers voiced opposition, and a new amendment effectively paused routine committee progression by requesting a Select Committee to gather evidence and report back. This procedural development is seen as a serious setback for supporters of the bill.
In fact, Right to Life UK reported: “An analysis of the speeches across both days one and two of Second Reading, completed by Right To Life UK’s Policy Team, found that of the 155 peers who took a position on the Bill, 104 (67%) spoke in opposition and 51 (33%) spoke in favor. This represents more than double the number of Peers speaking in opposition to the Bill compared to those who supported it.”
As a result of the second reading, many have become optimistic that the bill may fail.
Supporters of the bill will argue that it has safeguards and protections. Our own euthanasia and assisted suicide timeline highlights how so-called safeguards have eroded in many nations that have legalized assisted suicide.
What always begins as a limited legalization with the veil of safeguards seldom stays that way. Without fail, every country that has legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia has felt tremendous pressure to expand the parameters and remove safeguards. Unfortunately, many nations have given in to those pressures.
Belgium in 2002 legalized euthanasia with the passage of the “Euthanasia Act.” The law allowed adults that are experiencing “unbearable physical or psychological suffering” to be euthanized. Calls immediately began to expand the criteria to include those with conditions like dementia. Only 12 years later, the legislation was amended in 2014 to allow euthanasia without an age requirement. As a result, Belgium now allows for the euthanasia of children.
The Netherlands saw similar degradation of so-called safeguards. In 1984 the Dutch Supreme Court issued a ruling that allowed legal euthanasia under very strict circumstances. The patient’s suffering had to be deemed hopeless by medical standards, a second doctor’s opinion was required, and the procedure was to be documented thoroughly before being reported to legal authorities for review.
In 2001 the “Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act” was passed, fully legalizing the practice. In 2004 protocol was introduced to allow euthanasia specifically for infants. In 2016 proposals were made to allow elderly people who feel they have “completed their life” yet have no ailment to be eligible, though this effort has not yet been successful.
These examples, documented in our timeline, have been made available to our friends in the United Kingdom to be used as a powerful tool to defend life.
The debate in the United Kingdom is no standard political dispute. This is not a question regarding the budget, economic policy, or trade deals. This is a matter of life and death. We will continue to provide pro-life education as we change hearts and minds for life and keep you updated on the threats to life from conception to natural death.
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