MP blasts assisted suicide group

Campaigners vying for legal assisted suicide have been accused of trying to subvert the democratic process to get a debate in parliament.

Dignity in Dying, which has its roots in the eugenecist movement in the UK, issued a cash appeal to help boost a parliamentary petition.

The group told supporters it could secure 100,000 signatures, the amount needed to trigger a debate in parliament, through advertising at a cost of £1 per signature.

Danny Kruger MP, chairman of the anti-assisted suicide All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dying Well, said:

"The implication of this extraodinary fundraising email is that well-funded campaign groups can now buy debates in Parliament that they have failed to obtain democratically. Whatever your views on this issue, this email calls into question the integrity of our democratic system.

"There seems to be ample evidence that the signatures have been obtained as a result of spending tens of thousands of pounds – something out of reach to the campaigners of a majority of causes worthy of parliamentary debate."

Mr Kruger said he will write to Catherine McKinnell MP, Chair of the Petitions Committee, to ask her to investigate the petition by Dignity in Dying incredibly carefully.

Campaigners have failed to change the law barring assisted suicide on numerous occasions, with MPs and Peers highlighting a wealth of evidence demonstrating the practice is unethical and unsafe.

To learn more about CARE's work on this issue, visit our Assisted Suicide cause page: Assisted Suicide | CARE