On Friday 29 November, Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill will have its second reading in parliament. For those opposed to the proposed legislation, there is an in-person lobby and demonstration outside parliament from 9:30am.
However, conversely many people potentially affected by the Bill are chronically ill and disabled, and may not be able to attend an in-person demo. So, here’s what you ca do online to get involved.
Assisted Dying Bill: further revelations just before the vote
Opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill have been strong – albeit not as well-funded as those on the pro-assisted dying side of the argument. As the Canary has documented, the main campaign group Dignity in Dying has received funding from dubious sources like right-wing trusts and offshore anonymous donors.
It has direct links to the current Labour Party government; the original organisation (before it became Dignity in Dying) was originally involved in the push for more generalised euthanasia, and has historic links to Eugenicists.
However, it gets worse. As the Telegraph wrote, a new report into assisted dying found:
Two cases in which men who killed their partners were “championed” by Dignity in Dying, despite histories of domestic violence.
In 2022, the group backed a man under police investigation for assisting his first wife’s death in the 1990s, despite him being jailed in 2017 for bludgeoning his second wife with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
[The report] also accused the pressure group of operating a “cut-price British Dignitas” in the 1970s and 1980s.
Research revealed that two men working for the organisation, including its general secretary, were convicted for six deaths – five involving women suffering from multiple sclerosis, depression and cancer.
The report also noted that:
Of the 100 UK “mercy killings” over 25 years, the report found that 88 per cent of perpetrators were male, and 78 per cent of female victims were neither terminally ill nor willing to die but were often elderly, disabled or infirm.
Killings were frequently triggered by care demands and involved excessive violence, with “overkill” – the use of unnecessary brutality – common.
This comes on top of concerns the Canary has outlined more broadly about the Assisted Dying Bill. That is:
- The safeguards are not adequate.
- There is no guarantee it will not be extended in future beyond just terminally ill people.
- The risk of abuse of the bill is still high.
#AssistUsToLive
So, people against the Assisted Dying Bill will be converging on parliament on 29 November from 9:30am. Please remember to wear a mask if you can (as Covid isn’t over):
This is partly because so many MPs are still undecided on how to vote. So, there is still time for people to lobby them.
However, if you cannot be there in person, then the Canary would urge you to get involved online. Perhaps the most important thing to do is tag your MP on social media such as X and Bluesky – telling them why you’re against the Assisted Dying Bill. Canary guest author Melissa Parker has designed this graphic you can sharer, to encourage people to do it:
As per the above image, the hashtag to use is #AssistUsToLive – along with #AssistedDyingBill.
Campaign group Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) has created this thread on X which details why 350 Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) – every single one in the UK – is against assisted dying:
Assisted Dying 2nd Reading is on Friday 29th of November
We urge #MP‘s to read this thread and take into consideration the issue disabled people have when it comes to the Assisted Dying/Suicide Bill
Our Concerns
Please share this with your MP
Thread 🧵 #AssistUsToLive pic.twitter.com/ox8an8Gch6— DPAC (@Dis_PPL_Protest) November 24, 2024
In the final hours before MPs vote on the Bill, Leadbeater has admitted she believes someone ‘feeling like they’re a burden’ could be a legitimate reason for wanting assisted dying.
This sums up the issue. It shows that the MP bringing the Bill has no understand of coercion – and that clearly, the safeguards within it are not fit for purpose.
So, if you disagree with the Assisted Dying Bill get involved online. The Canary has had a lot to say on this. So, we will leave it to DPAC to sum up:
Disabled people in the UK are in urgent need of adequate support to meet our most basic needs.
We urge Parliamentarians to be on the side of real and meaningful choice – not only over the deaths of individuals who live with pain and distress but also over the right of millions of Disabled and older people to live.
Featured image via DPAC/Not Dead Yet
