The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) delivers its “YES to our hospices, NO to assisted suicide” postcard petition to No. 10 Downing Street. The petition was signed by 9,272 people.
MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is currently being considered by the House of Commons. The draft law proposes to legalise assisted suicide in England and Wales for terminally ill adults given six months to live.
The next stage of the Bill will be a second MP debate and vote at Third Reading, which is expected to take place on 16 May.
However, SPUC’s petition has now sent “a powerful and unequivocal message” to the Government and MPs that the British public wants improved hospital care, not assisted suicide.
It read: “I, the undersigned, call upon the Prime Minister to commit to long-term reform of hospice funding as part of the Government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, so that every hospice has the resources it needs to properly care for dying patients.
“With the need for palliative care projected to increase by 25% over the next 25 years, the current model for funding hospices is not fit for purpose.
“Dying people in this country need outstanding hospice care, not assisted suicide.”
Terry Graham, SPUC’s Northern Development Officer, said: “The UK is facing a palliative care crisis. A Marie Curie study, published last year, found that nearly half (49%) of bereaved respondents were unhappy with the end-of-life care that a family member received, and one in eight made an official complaint.
“Our petition calls on the Prime Minister to fund the urgent staffing needs of our hospices, so that dying patients get the very best care available and can have a dignified, peaceful death.
“At a time when even the Government’s own Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, says he will vote against assisted suicide legislation for this very reason, the public demands meaningful action to protect lives, not end them. This petition sends a powerful and unequivocal message to all MPs underscoring the democratic will of the people.
“SPUC is working hard to ensure that the concerns of the public are heard and responded to by politicians who owe them a duty of care, not least the preservation of life. Parliament cannot afford to ignore such a vital issue as assisted suicide that threatens so many vulnerable lives.”
Palliative care expert Dr Dominic Whitehouse led the call to sign the petition. He added:
“I am a palliative care consultant working in my local hospice. I am only too aware of the desperate situation of many hospices, where lack of funding means they are unable to deliver the level of care needed by the local community.
“I want to give my dying patients the very best care available, so that they can have a peaceful and dignified death.
“Please join me in petitioning the Prime Minister to fund the urgent staffing needs of our world-class hospices. Palliative care has suffered in countries where assisted suicide has been legalised.
“Palliative care is the way forward. Not assisted suicide.”
