Peer in new push to legalise assisted suicide

Lord Falconer will have another go at legalising assisted suicide – despite being soundly defeated last time.

He says he will introduce a Bill to the House of Lords in the summer, but peers rejected a similar effort in 2009.

The Care Not Killing group, which opposes assisted suicide, believes the Lords will reject this latest attempt.

Crime

Currently assisted suicide is a crime in the UK.

But some terminally ill patients travel to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland and are helped to commit suicide.

Under Lord Falconer’s new proposal, relatives of terminally ill people could legally help with travel to the clinic or with a drug overdose at home.

Change

Peter Saunders, campaign director of the Care Not Killing group, said a new bid to change the law had been expected.

He said he believed the Lords would reject the attempt.

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