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Dr Richard Maguire, Heritage and Learning Officer at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, urges people across East Anglia to contact their MPs in support of Right to Life UK’s campaign opposing the assisted suicide Bill, particularly efforts to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the legislation into law.
Right to Life UK is asking people across England to support the on-going campaign against the assisted suicide bill and contact their MPs regarding unprecedented proposals by supporters of the Bill to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords.
Last year saw the House of Commons vote on one of the most significant pieces of legislation to ever be considered in Parliament; an assisted suicide Bill (formally known as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill). The Bill was not mentioned in the Labour Party’s election manifesto and was presented to Parliament as a Private Members’ Bill; although it has received the Prime Minister’s personal support.
Despite significant opposition from many groups – including the Catholic Church and many disability rights organisations – who pointed out the deep flaws, both moral and practical, in the proposed legislation, the Bill passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons by a very small majority of 314 votes to 291, a majority of 23.
The Bill is currently under consideration in the House of Lords, where peers have undertaken scrutiny that was not possible in the House of Commons, where there was insufficient time at Report Stage for dozens of important amendments to be debated. So far, 131 Peers have either spoken against the Bill or signed amendments in the House of Lords because of concerns with the Bill. Because it is a Private Members’ Bill that was not a manifesto commitment, the House of Lords Constitution Committee has explained that “It is constitutionally appropriate for the House to scrutinise the Bill and, if so minded, vote to amend, or reject it.”
Although it is common for Private Members’ Bills to fall because of insufficient parliamentary time, the assisted suicide pressure group, Dignity in Dying, along with Lord Falconer and other campaigners, are now lobbying MPs to try to use what is known as the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the assisted suicide Bill into law in the next Parliamentary session. This would be unprecedented in British history. Only seven bills have become Acts using this procedure and it would be the first time ever that the Parliament Acts were used for a Private Members’ Bill. Doing so would set a concerning precedent enabling future Governments to bypass the House of Lords in passing legislation.
It is vital that MPs hear from constituents who do not support this attempt to bypass normal parliamentary procedure.
To help members of the public Right to Life UK have created an easy-to-use tool to help people to write to their MP and ask them to oppose attempts to force the assisted suicide Bill into law by using the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords.
Please contact your MP, using this QR Code, and ask them to oppose attempts to force the assisted suicide Bill into law by bypassing the House of Lords.
