British public support House of Lord rejection of assisted suicide bill says new poll

Image credit: Jacob Diehl / Danie Franco via Unsplash

A recent poll has found that the British public are in favour of Peers from the House of Lords rejecting the assisted suicide bill, despite receiving warnings not to as it passed through the House of Commons.

In recent weeks, Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill, that would see the legalisation of assisted suicide for those with terminal illness and given six months to live, has been brought to the House of Lords to face scrutiny after being passed in the House of Commons earlier this year. Back in June, MPs narrowly voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide with 314 vote to 291, leaving just a 23 vote majority.

During the debates, Peers had expressed an overwhelmingly strong opposition to the proposed bill, with, according to Right to Life UK, up to 67% of Peers speaking out against the bill. It is now looking like the House of Lords will vote down on the bill, despite, according to the Independent, receiving warnings not to.

Lord Falconer, the sponsor for the bill, had warned the House of Lords that they, an unelected upper chamber, should not reject the bill and support the outcoming of the vote from the House of Commons who are an elected upper chamber. However, both Right to Life UK and The Independent have reported that as the assisted suicide bill was not part of a government manifesto, nor was it a government bill but a private members bill, therefore, the House of Lords are entitled to reject or heavily amend the bill. Despite his warnings, Lord Falconer himself has in the past voted against a bill or heavily amended a bill that was passed by the House of Commons on at least six occasions.

In a new poll conducted by Whitestone Insight, reported in the Independent this week, of the 2,071 British adults who were surveyed, 70% believed that the House of Lords are allowed to vote down the bill, particularly if they feel the bill would possess a risk to the lives of vulnerable people. 20% believed that Peers cannot vote against the bill, even if they feel it would cause harm to vulnerable people, whereas 45% said that they feel Peers should be at liberty to reject it.

According to the Independent, the results of this poll are seemingly against other polls that suggest that the public are in favour of legalising assisted suicide. However, another recent poll found that the majority of the British public would rather the government focused on reducing NHS waiting times and providing funds for other areas of healthcare rather than focus on assisted suicide.

The Independent have said that the results of this poll have given more confidence to Peers to vote down the bill. Should Peers vote down the bill, it would be taken back to the House of Commons who will ask Peers to reconsider.

Former Paralympian and leading disability campaigner, Baroness Grey-Thompson, said: "Despite attempts to suggest otherwise, it seems the public are aware and support the ability of the Lords to reject this Bill should we think it necessary. The Bill is not a Government Bill and did not appear in any manifesto at the last election, so the Salisbury Convention does not apply.”

“The most vulnerable in our society are entitled to our unwavering protection and the best quality care - something not provided by this Bill. If this is not possible within the confines of the Bill, we will not hesitate to say so".

Lord Harper, the former minister for the disabled, also spoke about the results of the poll, saying "It is striking that, of those who take a position, the majority of people would support the House of Lords rejecting the assisted suicide Bill should it become necessary. The constitutional duty of the House in scrutinising this poorly drafted Bill is perfectly clear.”

“If it cannot be improved sufficiently, it is our responsibility to ensure it does not become law. This is not a manifesto Government Bill, and we should not treat it as such,” he added.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented, saying: “It is looking more and more that the assisted suicide bill is going to be rejected by the House of Lords and it is very encouraging that the majority of the British public are agreeing that this can be done.”

“Those involved in implementing laws have a duty to care for the people of their country and should they see that a bill that clearly does not care for the welfare of the sick and most vulnerable, then they cannot in good conscience vote in favour of it. We applaud anyone that has stood up against this bill and called to light the serious issues with not just the bill, but with the idea of legalising assisted suicide. Such a law will create a disrciminatroy attitude that suggests that some lives are worth living and caring for, and some are not. “