Catholic Union on Falconer Report

The Catholic Union today issued a summary and comments on the Falconer Report on Assisted Dying which was published on 5 January 2012.

The CU says: 'The Commission finds that the choice of assisted dying could safely be offered to people who are suffering at the end of life and likely to die within twelve months, provided that they satisfy the eligibility criteria and recommends a number of safeguards.

'Despite Parliament voting against similar proposals in the past it is considered likely that another Bill will be brought before Parliament based upon the Falconer report.

'This private commission was sponsored by Dignity in Dying, formerly the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, and financed by Terry Pratchett, one of their patrons, with panel members being handpicked by Lord Falconer, a leading advocate of changing the law.

'Nine of its eleven members are known backers of assisted suicide with a strong ideological vested interest in the outcome. Those with a differing view including representatives from major disability rights organisations and doctors’ groups were not invited to join the Commission. The overt bias in the structure of the commission is why over 40 organisations including the British Medical Association and many individuals boycotted the inquiry, including the Catholic Union.

'Its terms of reference were drafted to ensure that the final report backed a change in the law and ruled out maintaining the status quo. In the Commission’s own words they were to, ‘investigate the circumstances under which it should be possible for people to be assisted to die; recommend what system, if any, should exist to allow people to be, assisted to die; identify who should be entitled to be assisted to die and recommend what changes in the law, if any, should be introduced’ ”.

'What the Commission is proposing is a less safe version of the highly controversial law operating in the state of Oregon in the United States of America, which sees the terminally ill offered drugs to kill themselves, but not expensive life saving and life extending drugs. The ‘proposed safeguards’ are paper-thin and have already been rejected three times in the last six years by British Parliaments. These recommendations if implemented will place vulnerable people under increased pressure to end their lives so as not to be a burden on others. This pressure can be especially intense at a time of economic recession when families and the health service are already feeling the pinch. The so-called right to die can easily become the duty to die..

'The current law exists to protect those who are sick, elderly, depressed, or disabled from feeling obliged to end their lives. It requires every case to be reviewed by the police and the DPP to determine whether a prosecution is appropriate. The present law protects those who have no voice against exploitation and coercion, acts as a
powerful deterrent to would-be abusers and gives discretion to judges to temper justice with mercy in hard cases.'

For more information on the Catholic Union see: www.catholicunion.org/

Source: CU