ASSISTED SUICIDE AND THE SUICIDE ACT 1961

That this House welcomes the provisions in the Coroners and Justice Bill to bring the Suicide Act 1961 up to date by making clear that its provisions on assisting or encouraging suicide apply to the internet; notes the declared wishes of pro-euthanasia campaigners to see further amendments to the 1961 Act to permit assistance with suicide for vulnerable groups of people, including the terminally ill; observes that the Act combines a categoric prohibition of assisted suicide to deter abuse with an ability to assess the circumstances of apparent breaches of the law and, where appropriate, to deal compassionately with them; believes therefore that the Act, especially if amended as the Government proposes in the Coroners and Justice Bill, is working as it should; and calls on the House to reaffirm its support for a law which protects vulnerable people from abuse.