Right To Life UK has questioned whether the federal government is really neutral within the assisted suicide debate after it was announced that seven additional sittings for the controversy within the House of Lords can be created.
The extra days of debate were announced by the federal government Chief Whip within the House of Lords in what Right to Life called a “highly irregular move”.
Originally three sitting Fridays were planned for the controversy, however the announcement now implies that the House will sit nearly every Friday from January to Easter next yr.
Right To Life UK said that the move indicated the federal government was keen to create time beyond regulation for the assisted suicide bill, noting that the Lords had already been given an additional day to debate it after they were purported to be in recess.
The move, in addition to giving time beyond regulation to the query of assisted suicide, may also mean less time for other Private Members’ Bills being considered.
Catherine Robinson, Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said, “The announcement that seven additional sitting Fridays have been created for the assisted suicide bill, while much of Westminster and the media were distracted by the Budget, is deeply troubling.
“This is a cynical try and slip through without scrutiny a significant change to what peers had expected. The government can now not claim to be neutral on the assisted suicide bill when it’s making time beyond regulation to push through a flawed and dangerous bill.”
“The bill has been mishandled at every stage, from its late publication to the biased Commons Bill Committee, and the bill’s supporters’ recent attempts to bully opponents into rushing scrutiny.
“No period of time given to the assisted suicide bill will make it secure. It simply will not be possible to legislate against the danger of self-coercion and vulnerable people being pressured into assisted suicide.”
Alithea Williams, Public Policy Manager on the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, also questioned the federal government’s decision, saying it’s “hard for the Government to keep up that they’re neutral on the bill, while devoting a lot time to it”.
However, she added that by giving the bill more time, opponents of the controversial measure now have more time to lobby parliamentarians and ensure their voices are heard.
 Right To Life UK has questioned whether the federal government is really neutral within the assisted suicide debate after it was announced that...){kind=link}