HOSPICE CARE AND BMA MOTION

That this House notes that the British Medical Association's (BMA) Annual Delegates Conference passed a five-part motion with a clear majority condemning the discredited Demos Commission on Assisted Dying and supporting the BMA's decision not to give evidence because of the strong bias of the Commission's members in favour of assisted dying; further notes the call for the BMA Ethics Committee to make the BMA's opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia clear to the Commission on Assisted Dying which was set up by the euthanasia lobby group, Dignity in Dying, chaired by Lord Falconer and which is financed by Sir Terry Pratchett; recognises that a huge majority of doctors and nurses, particularly those involved in hospice and palliative care, are opposed to assisted dying and euthanasia, as witnessed by the strong opposition from the BMA, the Royal College of General Practitioners and other professional nursing and medical bodies; and calls on the Government to uphold measures and programmes ensuring that UK palliative and hospice services remain the finest in the world.