Legalising assisted suicide will put the elderly at risk, says PM

Debbie Purdy said Gordon Brown had a 'lack of respect' over the issue
12 April 2012

Gordon Brown today warned that legalising assisted suicide would place unacceptable pressure on the elderly to end their lives as prosecutors prepared new rules on "mercy" killings.

The Prime Minister said he believed that any move to introduce a new law — which some parliamentarians support — would also "fundamentally change" the way people thought about death and threaten the protection of the "most vulnerable" in society.

His warning comes ahead of the publication tomorrow by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, of new guidelines setting out the circumstances in which those who help others to die are likely to face charges.

The rules are expected to make clear that those who assist in suicide for purely compassionate reasons when the victim had a "settled" wish to die are unlikely to be prosecuted.

They will also warn, however, that others who are motivated primarily by financial gain or who encourage the victim to end their life will still be likely to end up in court. Campaigners believe that, as a result, the fate of any person assisting in a suicide will remain unclear and argue that Parliament should pass a new law under which "mercy" killings would be permitted.

In a newspaper article today, Mr Brown vowed to oppose any such move and claimed that the new prosecution guidelines would weaken the case for further legislative change by setting out for the first time the factors that will determine whether charges are brought.

"I believe it is our duty as a societyto use the laws we have well, rather than change them," Mr Brown wrote. "Let us be clear: death as an option and an entitlement, via whatever bureaucratic processes a change in the law on assisted suicide might devise, would fundamentally change the way we think about death.

"The risk of pressures — however subtle — on the frail and the vulnerable, who may for example feel their existences burdensome to others cannot be entirely excluded."

The new guidelines are being issued in response to a House of Lords ruling last year on a test case brought the right-to-die campaigner Debbie Purdy.

The ruling instructed the Crown Prosecution Service to set out for the first time the public interest factors which it uses to decide on whether to prosecute in assisted suicide cases.

Interim guidance was published by Mr Starmer last year and, following a public consultation, a final version of the rules will be unveiled tomorrow.

Although opponents claim the changes will give the green light to mercy killings, Ms Purdy said she still wanted a change in the law and criticised Mr Brown for opposing what she claimed was the will of the people.

"To have a Prime Minister who says actually, I don't care if 95 per cent of the population think we should find a law' it shows a lack of respect for the British people," she said.

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