Labour denies manifesto pledge for assisted suicide debate

LABOUR HAS denied claims that a move to legalise assisted suicide will be part of its party manifesto for next year’s general election, writes Christopher Lamb.

A report in the Sunday Express  – highlighted by the Catholic Legislators’ Network – reported that Lord Falconer is seeking to persuade Labour leader Ed Miliband to commit to debate assisted dying in government time, should the party win the next election.

But a Labour spokesman told The Tablet that this would not feature in the party manifesto.

Lord Falconer introduced a private members’ bill in the House of Lords in July to allow the ­terminally ill thought to have only six months to live to request life-ending medication from a doctor. The patient, who would need to be mentally competent, would also have the choice to self-­administer the drugs.

The bill has received two readings and is due to be examined by a House of Lords committee.

When asked if he wanted to see assisted suicide in the Labour’s manifesto Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, said: “I’m concentrating on getting my bill through Parliament. If the bill doesn’t get through, then I think the right thing to do is for parliamentary time to be made available for the matter to be properly debated.” Leaders of Churches and other major faiths have stressed their opposition to the bill, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby and the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis.

In an article for The Tablet ­earlier this year, disabled peer Baroness Campbell of Surbiton also expressed her concerns, describing the bill as “misguided and dangerous”.

She said: “For it [the bill] to pass into law would be the triumph of despair over hope. It says, don’t try to make things ­better – that’s just too difficult and, anyway, would be futile. It is far better to die now.”