MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 2005 DEPRIVATION OF LIBERTY SUPPLEMENT PUBLISHED APRIL 2008  CORONERS AND JUSTICE BILL -PLEASE ACT NOW The Coroners and Justice Bill includes provisions to tighten the Suicide Act in order to outlaw internet websites and media outlets that promote or encourage suicide. However the pro-euthanasia lobby is trying to hijack it in order to legalise assisted suicide for seriously ill people. This is the most serious threat to the law in Britain since the 2006 Joffe Bill.   We expect to see a serious attempt at the Bills Report Stage in the House of Commons on 23 and 24 March to legalise assisted suicide via amendments to the Bill. We do not yet know the precise nature or scope of such amendments but they will probably try and build on public sympathy for people who go to Switzerland from time to time to commit suicide at the Dignitas apartment. It is essential that MPs should be left in no doubt about the views of constituents who are opposed to such amendments. Making it legal for people to help family members to commit suicide in Switzerland would be no more than a stepping stone to legalising the practice here. That is what the pro-euthanasia lobby wants but, after several defeats in Parliament, they are afraid to introduce a bill that says clearly what its aims are. Instead they are trying to piggy-back Government legislation which is designed to do exactly the opposite. The Prime Minister has declared publicly that he is opposed to legalising assisted suicide. That is a sensible position which I hope you will support. The vulnerability of sick and elderly people increases at a time of severe recession. We should be giving them the protection of the law, not making it easier for them to be helped to commit suicide. You can write to your MP at www.writetothem.com . All you need is your postcode. For more information on the Coroners and Justice Bill see the following links:    Many thanks for your support Dr Peter Saunders  Director  Care Not Killing Alliance   Care Not Killing, PO Box 56322, London SE1 8XW Tel: 020 7234 9680 Fax: 0871 900 4745            Email: info@carenotkilling.org.uk  Website: http://www.carenotkilling.org.uk Promoting palliative care. Opposing euthanasia   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   CARE CAMPAIGN    The Coroners and Justice Bill: The House of Lords This will soon reach its critical stage in the House of Lords and the two key issues of concern remain the same:         Assisted Suicide.  We are particularly concerned about:   A. Lord Falconer’s amendment (173) – making it legal for someone to assist a seriously ill person to commit suicide by taking them abroad to a suicide clinic.   B. Lord Alderdice’s amendment (174) – making it legal for someone to assist a seriously ill person to end their life in this country.   These amendments are followed by a compromise from Lord Joffe (who previously led the campaign for legalising assisted suicide which was defeated in May 2006) that could be used as back-up if the other amendments are lost:   C. Lord Joffe’s amendment (177) makes ending life ‘manslaughter’ and not ‘murder’ if someone is moved by compassion in response repeated requests from a seriously ill person.   The pro-euthanasia organisation ‘Dignity in Dying’ has asked its supporters to join their ‘3 peers campaign’ and write to three members of the House of Lords asking for them to support the liberalisation of the law. We have launched CARE’s ‘4 peers campaign’ encouraging Christians to write to four peers each, asking them to vote for life by opposing the amendments. We have attached to this email a list of peers in each UK County. If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, please consider writing to 4 peers in your County and encourage friends to do the same!         Free Speech   Last year, Parliament passed Lord Waddington’s excellent amendment protecting free speech. However, Clause 61 of this Bill now removes this wise safeguard. Without it Christians may be subjected to lengthy police investigations for simply expressing their Christian convictions regarding sexual issues. If you live in England or Wales, please write to the peers in your area asking them to vote against Clause 61 and thereby keep this precious free speech clause.   NB. Time is short – how long do we have? It is always difficult to predict the timings, but the assisted suicide vote will probably be on 7th July, and free speech on 9th July. Letters and emails to peers should therefore be sent as soon as possible.   If you are in church leadership we would be very grateful if you could photocopy or print this letter and give it out to people in your congregation on Sunday.   Thank you so much for your support. May God bless you richly in all that you seek to do for Him. Yours sincerely,   Nola Leach Chief Executive, CARE   http://www.care.org.uk/