Written by Dear NBCW,
As you have no doubt noticed, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has been reintroduced to Parliament this week by Lauren Edwards, MP for Rochester and Strood who won the second slot in the ballot for Private Members Bills.
The Bill is being reintroduced without amendment so that it can be forced through the House of Lords in an unprecedented use of the Parliament Act. This Act was intended to prevent the Lords blocking government legislation. It has never been used to pass a Private Members Bill.
This requires action from us!
Write to your MP and ask her, or him, to vote against the Bill. It scraped through the Commons by only 12 votes in the last session, and that was on the basis that it would be scrutinised by the Lords and amended. If only a few MPs change their minds, the Bill could be defeated. Point out that the Bill remains unsafe.
There is a lot of information online about the Bill. Right to Life have a draft message to MPs that can be used.
If you are unfamiliar with this issues, a good place to start is the report from our event Human Life is Sacred: Understanding the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill as well as our submission to the call for evidence.