Falconer bill set to fail but will return

THE ASSISTED Dying Bill, which will return to its committee stage in the House of Lords next week, is likely to founder, but anti-euthanasia campaigners warned the threat will not disappear, and that a similar bill is very likely to be presented during the next parliament.

Lord Falconer’s bill, which would enable terminally ill adults to request assistance to end their lives, will be examined for a second time by members of the House of Lords next Friday.

But with a general election just four months away there will not be enough time for the bill to be debated in the House of Commons.

Alistair Thompson of Care Not Killing, the group that is leading opposition to the bill, said that it is likely that legislation allowing for assisted dying could be proposed in the early years of the next parliament.

“It’s good news of course that it’s unlikely to be passed this time around, but the people who are pushing for this change, people like Lord Falconer, are very powerful parliamentary figures and are likely to continue with their efforts to get this measure passed,” he said.

“There’s a real need for vigilance in the next parliament – 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.”

Pressure for a change in the law has been building as a Supreme Court ruling on a right to die case last June urged parliament to debate and consider the matter. The court said it felt that the current law criminalising assisted suicide was incompatible with Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which allows someone the right to a private and family life. The Director of Public Prosecutions has already issued guidance on when prosecutions are likely to be brought for those involved in helping others to die.

At the end of last year, 80 prominent figures  sent a letter to The Daily Telegraph calling for the legalising of assisted dying, and arguing that public opinion favoured a change. 

Lord Falconer told The Tablet: “I really think there is a sense that whatever people think, they think that parliament must now make up its mind about this.”

But Mr Thompson said that polls showed public support for assisted dying was on the wane, adding: “The public are turning away from this: there’s been a 10 to 15 per cent drop in those who support the principle of assisted dying. And when you ask more detailed questions about whether the elderly might feel they are a financial or care burden, then you start to see much higher numbers of people opposing this measure.”

Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, who opposes the Falconer bill, said claims that the public were in favour of assisted suicide could be misleading as it depended on what questions were being asked.

He did say, however, that it was right to “assume there would be future bills” and that those in favour of a change were “very well-funded and their strategy is to keep going”. Lord Carlile said the Falconer bill does not include enough supervision by the courts.

The Catholic peer Baroness (Sheila) Hollins said she believed there was an attempt to soften public opinion with high-profile cases of those wanting to end their own lives. She said it was important for more to be done to provide better, holistic end-of-life care.