Pro-lifers allowed to intervene in Mrs Dianne Pretty's appeal to House of Lords

London, 6 November 2001--The pro-life coalition has learned that the House of Lords has granted it leave to intervene in the matter of Mrs Dianne Pretty's request for assisted suicide.

Mrs Pretty is seeking an assurance from the Director of Public Prosecutions that her husband would not be prosecuted if he helped her to commit suicide. Last week she was given leave to bring her case before the House of Lords.

The coalition immediately lodged a petition with the House of Lords so that the house would be fully apprised of the very significant ethical and moral dimensions and implications that flow from this case.

Paul Tully, general secretary of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said: "Those backing Mrs Pretty are determined to undermine the right to life of severely disabled people in order to promote the cause of medical killing. It is vital that this case is seen in the wider context of the pressures which might be brought to bear on handicapped people to opt for death."

The coalition's submission will be made in writing on or before Friday (the ninth). The case will be heard tomorrow-week (Wednesday the 14th) and Thursday-week (the 15th). The coalition comprises Alert, the Medical Ethics Alliance and SPUC.