MPs seem like turning against assisted suicide bill

New research from Whitestone Insight has suggested that support for the controversial assisted suicide bill in Westminster has dropped even amongst MPs who voted for it last 12 months.

The bill is did not pass within the House of Lords following Commons approval last 12 months. However, the poll by Whitestone suggests that ought to the bill return to the Commons, only 40 per cent of MPs would support it.

The poll, which questioned 102 MPs, also suggests that almost half of MPs (49%) have concerns that legalising assisted suicide would result in pressure on the elderly and the disabled, a standard fear raised by campaigners.

Campaigners in favour of the bill, similar to Lord Falconer, have suggested that the House of Commons use the Parliament Act to force the bill through, should the Lords reject or just day out the bill.

Such a move can be unlikely to succeed nevertheless, because the Whitestone polling suggest a majority of MPs (61%) accept the appropriate of the Lords to dam the bill, which was not in Labour’s manifesto.

The apparent decline in support for the bill amongst MPs appears to be driven by concerns or outright opposition to the proposal from medical and disability groups. Over half of MPs (58 per cent) surveyed said that such aspects had a significant influence on their very own views.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, commented, “This poll blows apart the lie that the House of Commons is each settled and supportive of legalising assisted suicide. Quite the contrary, it shows that even amongst some previously supportive MPs there was a recognition that the Bill was fundamentally unsafe and deeply flawed.”

He continued, “These findings, together with other polling we’ve got carried out, prove that the more people hear about assisted suicide and euthanasia, or the issues inside this particular Bill, the less likely they’re to support it.”

“Given the very real risk of coercion, lack of conscience opt outs and the issue many sick and dying people experience in accessing top quality health care, we urge MPs to show their attention to fixing these problems. I hope we will all agree that access to palliative care and support should never rely upon either your postcode or bank balance. We need more care not killing.”