Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
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News, 14 December 2004

The British Government last night forced the pro-euthanasia Mental Capacity Bill through a sceptical House of Commons and refused to reverse the Bill's euthanasia nature. The Bill was passed at its Third
Reading by 354 votes to 118. The Government rejected Report Stage amendments, backed by 200 MPs, which, while imperfect, represented concerns that the Bill would allow and even compel the denial of ordinary treatment, as well as basic care such as tube-feeding, from patients who can't communicate. [Hansard, 14 December] Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, commented: "The vote of 118 against the Bill at Third Reading reflected the reluctance of MPs to accept the Government's assurances about an alleged understanding with Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff that the Government would amend the Bill in the House of Lords to exclude euthanasia..The Commons was in uproar during the Bill's Report Stage when Government officials circulated correspondence between the Lord Chancellor and Archbishop Smith in which the Archbishop claimed that the Government has made a crucial concession on the Bill's legal effect of permitting euthanasia by omission. The Lord Chancellor's letter to Archbishop Smith gives no indication of the text of any proposed amendments. It's all smoke and mirrors. The Lord Chancellor's ambiguous proposal crucially refers to excluding decisions only "where the motive is to kill" rather than intention to kill. What matters in the eyes of the law is the intention to kill - motive is simply what moved the person to kill, which might be a misguided notion of compassion. In the light of today's farcical proceedings in the Commons, we urge the House of Lords to give the Bill and any new amendments by the Government strict scrutiny, with a view to rejecting the Bill unless the euthanasia nature of the Bill is reversed." [SPUC media release, 14 December]

The Brazilian Catholic bishops have released a statement responding to news that the Brazilian government is considering allowing wider access to abortion in law. The President of the Bishops Conference called respect for life 'the foundation of all human rights', warning that increasing the availability of abortion would lead to "an escalation of violence, insecurity, revenge, murder, greater poverty and hunger." Abortion is already legal in Brazil in cases of rape and a perceived danger to the mother's life. [CWNews, 13 December]

To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2012