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Falconer assisted suicide bill, urgent action needed
JOHN SMEATON, SPUC DIRECTOR Monday, 7 July 2014 Falconer assisted suicide bill, urgent action needed Lord Falconer has reintroduced his Assisted Dying bill, which aims at helping terminally-ill people to commit suicide. This is the same bill that he introduced last session as a 'dry run'. It is due to have a Second Reading in the House of Lords on Friday 18 July. Write Please write (send letters by post) to Peers (members of the House of Lords) asking them to oppose the bill. To receive a list of suggested Peers to whom you can write, please send an email topolitical@spuc.org.uk with the subject line "Peer list request". Please ask as many people as possible to write to Peers. Short, preferably hand-written letters, relating personal experiences and concerns, are likely to be most effective. We believe they are likely to be much more effective in this instance than sending e-mails. The Falconer bill poses a major threat at this time because the composition of the House of Lords has changed markedly in recent years, with many more 'Cameron' appointees reflecting anti-life attitudes. Although previous bills, such as Lord Joffe's bill, have been defeated in the Lords, this vote could be much closer. Bishop Mark Davies in a pastoral letter calling for opposition to the bill recalls the major conflicts of last century and says: "Whilst we recall the heroism of generations before us, we must not fail to recog¬nise the great challenge for our own genera¬tion. We are now being called upon to defend the sanctity of human life amidst the growing threats against it." Please write to Peers, and encourage others to write, opposing the Falconer bill. We would be most grateful to receive copies of replies from peers who indicate whether they intend to support or oppose the bill. Demonstrate On the day of the Lords' Second Reading, the Care Not Killing Alliance is organising an event in Parliament Square and SPUC supporters are encouraged to attend. Please contact CNK for details: 020 7234 9680 or via their website http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk  Read Read a detailed critique of the Falconer bill by Rev. Dr. John Fleming. Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia (NOE), a group within SPUC, has also published a critique. Further briefing information is available on the Care Not Killing website at:http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk/falconer-bill