The Welsh Parliament has voted to reject assisted suicide in a blow to Britain’s pro-euthanasia campaign.
26 members of the Welsh Senedd, including the Labour First Minister and the Health Secretary, voted against a motion calling for a law to allow assisted suicide in England and Wales. In total, 19 members of the 60-strong Senedd voted in favour, whilst nine abstained and six were not present for the vote.
Ahead of the vote, campaigners against assisted suicide gathered in Cardiff warned that the proposed law, which will be debated and subject to a free vote in the House of Commons, could lead to a the creation of a “slippery slope.”
The demonstration ahead of the debate, organised by Distant Voices, Christian Concern, the Christian Medical Fellowship and SPUC, saw campaigners gather outside the Senedd to warn about the far-reaching consequences of legalising assisted suicide.
The campaigners raised awareness of what they described as the “extreme consequences seen around the world where assisted suicide and euthanasia have been legalised.”
Standing by gravestone signs sharing some of the stories of those who have died in Canada and other countries, participants claimed that opening the door to assisted suicide and euthanasia would lead to more suffering and harm, not less.
Campaigners opposed to a change in the law pointed to a number of high-profile cases, including a 29-year-old woman in the Netherlands, who was euthanized on the grounds of mental suffering, as well as a 47-year-old UK teacher who was euthanized in Switzerland without his family being aware. They also pointed to a Belgian woman, aged 64, who was euthanized on grounds of depression without her family’s knowledge.
Anti-assisted suicide campaigners say that if the UK introduces assisted suicide, we will quickly see the same processes used to remove all meaningful safeguards.
In Canada, the number of those dying by ‘medical assistance in dying’ (MAiD) has risen twelvefold since its introduction in 2016. MAiD now accounts for over 4 per cent of deaths in the country, and has become the fifth leading cause of death.
Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles warned the legislation would have “huge ramifications” for Wales if it was passed.
The defeated Senedd motion proposed that adults suffering “intolerably” from an incurable physical condition should be given the option of an assisted death, with “robust” safeguards in place.
Joel James, a Conservative politician for South Wales Central, said: “It has been repeatedly proven that assisted dying laws, when introduced, descend quickly into a range of problems, from coercion by relatives to the hand-picking of specific doctors willing to euthanise.
“It would, I believe, set a dangerous precedent and lead to a catalogue of unintended consequences if it was introduced into the UK”.
It comes as the Dáil t voted by a majority in favour of accepting the final Oireachtas report which recommends legislating for assisted suicide. The vote in favour of the motion will not bring about immediate legislative change, however it means that the pro-euthanasia report has been ‘noted’ by the government.
While a number of government TDs opposed the motion, strong support from Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, Labour and the Social Democrats saw the report accepted by a majority.
76 TDs voted in favour, and 53 against, after the three coalition parties allowed a free vote on the issue, on the grounds that it was a matter of conscience.