SPUC warns of government U-turn on euthanasia

Westminster, 15 April 2002--The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has expressed concern that the government is working with the pro-euthanasia lobby to promote so-called living wills which could endanger the lives of vulnerable patients.

Responding to new draft guidance¹ issued by the Lord Chancellor's Department on mentally-incapacitated patients, SPUC general secretary Paul Tully said: "The government has thanked the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES) for its assistance in the consultation process and recommends the VES as a 'source of help on consent for treatment', such as living wills. This involvement with the VES raises the concern that the government is doing a U-turn on euthanasia and will soon bring in legislation designed to permit the killing of elderly people and the disabled."²

Mr Tully added: "If the government is really against euthanasia as it claims, it should explain why it is sending people for advice to an organisation that wants to legalise killing."

Making Decisions: Helping People who have Difficulty Deciding for Themselves, Lord Chancellor's Department, April 2002.
The leaflets are meant to "set ... the scene for new legislation" and give "guidance [which] will evolve over time, to reflect future changes in law and policy affecting people who lack capacity." Lord Chancellor's Department Central Office of Information, 10 April.