THE House of Lords must reject the “dangerous” assisted dying bill during its second reading today, according to Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
He said on GB News: “the House of Lords will conclude the second reading debate on one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation to come before Parliament in years, the assisted suicide bill. Supporters say it’s compassionate, but the reality is that it’s unsafe, unworkable and open to abuse.
“It is not a government bill. It wasn’t in any party’s manifesto. It doesn’t benefit from the Salisbury-Addison Convention. It is a private member’s bill, which means the Lords are under no obligation to pass it.
“Their job is to scrutinise, and if necessary, to block, and that’s what I would encourage them to do. Many noble peers have spoken out against it already.
He added: “But why is this bill so dangerous? Well, first, it’s wrong in principle. And second, the safeguards are illusory.
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“The British Geriatrics Society, Hospice UK, leading palliative care experts, all warn that the system isn’t equipped, 40% of hospices are planning cuts this year, and social care is heavily stretched. Yet we’re being told this is the moment to introduce lethal drugs into the health care system.
“New Zealand legalised assisted suicide in 2021 and within the second year, cases rose 37% on the first year…
“Just a fortnight ago, the bill’s own sponsors were in Parliament with campaigners who want to expand the right to assist suicide to people who aren’t terminally ill, even before the bill is passed. Once this principle is concluded, then this is the pattern that’s followed in other countries.
“Assisted suicide is introduced for those with the worst illnesses, the hardest cases, the saddest cases, then the law is relaxed, so that even mentally ill children are at risk. As well as issues of morality, the bill itself is a bad piece of legislation.
“The Lord’s delegated powers committee called it a skeleton bill, which means that the details are not in the bill itself, not the bill passed by Parliament, but get made up later by secondary legislation.
“This hands ministers powers to regulate all sorts of aspects of it, including the lethal substances, with minimal parliamentary scrutiny into law-making by blank cheque, literally, on life and particularly death.
“We also need to look at how the government has handled this, because in a very unusual move, it recalled the House of Lords during the recess, has the effect of stopping some people from turning up normally. Lords sitting dates are set well in advance, but this has been brought forward, something that’s normally only done in the event of war or economic collapse.
“It’s a quite improper way to be fiddling around, playing ducks and drakes with the House of Lords for a bill that is not one with the government’s imprimatur. It is not a government bill.
“So what we have to realise is that this is not about compassion. It’s about killing. It’s about death.
“Real compassion means helping people to live better, hospice care, proper support, not telling vulnerable people that they’re a burden on society, a cost to the NHS, and they’d be better off dead.
“The Lords should reject this bill, not out of coldness, but out of real care for those most at risk. Assisted suicide is not the solution, and I hope tomorrow they will stop Britain from going down this evil path.”
