Black Friday - Assisted Suicide Passes Parliament
After a 5 hour debate, MPs voted
in favour of legalising assisted suicide by 330 to 275 - a majority of 55.
Christian Concern:
Christian Concern has said the
vote in favour of assisted dying marks a “very black Friday for the vulnerable
in this country”.
Andrea Williams, the group’s chief
executive, said: “Today is indeed a very black Friday for the vulnerable in
this country, but this is not over.
“The proposals in this dangerous
Bill have been completely exposed. The proposed safeguards are completely
meaningless, and more and more MPs are waking up to that reality.
“This Bill will create more
suffering and chaos in the NHS, not less, and if it goes through, the
vulnerable will become more vulnerable.
“MPs are voting for the Bill at
this stage in the hope that it will be fixed, however, the legislation is
framed in a way that means it can’t be changed.
“It must be stopped at third
reading, and we will not give up working to protect life and the most
vulnerable in this country from these reckless and rushed proposals.”
Catholic Bishops’ Conference:
Bishop John Sherrington of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales asked Catholics to “pray” MPs
will have the “wisdom” to reject the Bill at a later stage.
He said: “We are disappointed that
MPs have voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
progressing through Parliament.
“We believe that this Bill is
flawed in principle and also contains particular clauses that are of concern.
We ask the Catholic community to pray that Members of Parliament will have the
wisdom to reject this Bill at a later stage in its progress.
“In addition to being opposed to
the principle of assisted suicide, we are particularly concerned with clauses
in the Bill that prevent doctors from properly exercising conscientious
objection, provide inadequate protection to hospices and care homes that do not
wish to participate in assisted suicide and allow doctors to initiate
conversations about assisted suicide.
“We ask that these voices be heard
in the next stages of the Bill to strengthen the deep concerns about this
proposed legislation.”
How MPs Voted by Party:
Government Neutral:
The Government claims to be
neutral on the subject of legalising assisted dying despite the fact Sir Keir
Starmer voted in favour of the legislation.
A spokesperson for Sir Keir said: “As is a matter of public record, the Prime Minister voted for the Assisted Dying Private Members’ Bill. The Government’s position remains neutral, and we will respect the will of Parliament.”
How the Cabinet voted
|
In favour |
Against |
|
Ed Miliband |
Angela Rayner |
|
Heidi Alexander |
Anneliese Dodds |
|
Hilary Benn |
Bridget Phillipson |
|
Jo Stevens |
Darren Jones |
|
John Healey |
David Lammy |
|
Lisa Nandy |
Jonathan Reynolds |
|
Liz Kendall |
Shabana Mahmood |
|
Lucy Powell |
Wes Streeting |
|
Pat McFadden |
|
|
Peter Kyle |
|
|
Rachel Reeves |
|
|
Sir Alan Campbell |
|
|
Sir Keir Starmer |
|
|
Steve Reed |
|
|
Yvette Cooper |
[Note: Ian Murray did not vote]
As I don't have access to a confessor at the moment, I will have to hold off saying what I think about the ghouls who govern us.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, I can't post via my Google account.
It's not over yet but it is a dark day.
DeleteNot sure what's up with your Google. Try closing and resigning in.
I hope not, but the pro-death campaign seems to be suspiciously well funded.
DeleteLet's see if I can post this.
Christians need to wake up to the fact that, sociologically, we're pretty much back where we were at the time of the Roman Empire. The last 2000 years might as well not have happened. It would be helpful if we had the same kind of apostolic leadership we had back then.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Benedict Option' is looking attractive right now. There's a reason the early Christians abandoned the cities and fled to the desert.
DeleteJerusalem sinned grievously; therefore she became filthy; all who honoured her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns her face away. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future; therefore her fall is terrible; she has no comforter.
I'll be retiring in a few years, and funnily enough, I was thinking the same thing. There's a nice little Cistercian monastery in a rural area with a pretty good sized community of monks attached. I've got my eye on some property in the area. I can just see myself spending my declining years joining in the liturgy on a daily basis, waiting for the call. Let's face it, there's not much else to attract a person in the world as it is today.
DeleteI don't believe for a moment that the government was 'neutral' on this. Starmer has said that he promised Esther Ranzten that he'd find space to debate this, so it was always on his agenda (who knows what else he's promised his celebrity chums?) It was sneaked in through the back door as a private member's bill to avoid the debate and pre-legislative scrutiny that government bills are subjected to.
ReplyDeleteA cynic might think that Leadbeater was chosen by someone else to spearhead this campaign, seeing as she has never been that outspoken on the issue to my knowledge, appeared to have only a passing familiarly with her own bill, and would be soft balled by the press because of her sister.
Starmer's first acts in government have been to freeze the elderly, attack private education, snatch land off farmers and let the state kill its citizens. Interesting priorities, given the state of the country...
It feels like living through the fall of Rome at the moment. Lamentations 1 seems apt today.
How does this affect Scotland?
I agree with you about Starmer and Ranzten, and also about Leadbeater being chosen by the (so called) 'Dignified Dying' lobby.
DeleteIt should also be noted that Rishi Sunak voted in favour and David Cameron drummed up support among conservative MPs, 93 of whom supported this. At least Jeremy Corbyn opposed it.
So far as Scotland is concerned, this is a "reserved matter" and if it becomes lawful through Parliament it will apply here too.
Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, David Cameron, Alastair Campbell, and Matt Hancock were all for it.
DeleteIf you're uncertain on a moral issue, a good rule of thumb is to do the opposite of what any of these men do.
I had a very similar thought to what Lain just said.
DeleteIf anyone could convince me that we're being ruled over by a cabal of lizards in ill-fitting skin suits, it's those five.
DeleteShapeshifting reptilian aliens are real! They taking on human form, gain political power and manipulate human societies. Many world leaders are reptilians.
DeleteThis reminds me of conversations I used to have when I took communion to the old folk's home...
DeleteOne's heart goes out to the poor souls .....
DeleteThe cheek! It was the highlight of their week!
DeleteThey also liked me to stick around and play them some historical music from the 40s and 50s on the home's piano.
The elderly like to encourage the young and are adverse to criticising them.
DeleteOh really? Someone clearly didn't get that memo 😂
DeleteSadly this was inevitable, there have been multiple attempts over the years. This was going to continue until the right decision was made.
ReplyDeleteIt's also irreversible.
"It feels like living through the fall of Rome at the moment".
ReplyDeleteWe'll be exposing unwanted baby daughters in the town dumps next.
There's already an average of around 16 babies abandoned per year in the UK. But abandonment isn't needed in a country where something like 1/3rd of conceptions end in abortion.
DeleteYes, you're right. This would have been brought again and again until the correct answer was reached. I find it depressing how much of the debate around this is rooted in selfishness. I want an easy death, so I don't care if others are coerced into it. Rantzen is a case in point - a rich, privileged celebrity publicly rejoicing that she's getting her way at the expense of the poor and vulnerable. And I believe she hasn't expected to make it to last Christmas - she'd have been one of those eligible for assisted suicide on an incorrect prognosis (according to medical experts, doctors can only correctly forecast a 6 month life expectancy 32% of the time...)
The other thing that makes my blood run cold is the champagne-popping, back slapping celebrations from the MPs and lobbyists. You're celebrating ending people's lives - that's ghoulish.
Interesting article by someone who has a somewhat schizophrenic attitude to euthanasia
ReplyDeletehttps://thecritic.co.uk/on-the-awfulness-of-liberals/