Dear [Member of Parliament],
I'm writing to you as my MP to ask you to support Rob Marris’s Assisted Dying Bill.
Like the majority of the country – 82% of the public support assisted dying - I believe Parliament should change the law to allow terminally ill people the choice to end their own suffering within strong upfront safeguards.
[Insert why you personally support changing the law here].
I understand you may have questions or concerns about changing the law but the current law is failing. As it stands the law does not provide any safeguards for terminally ill patients ending their own lives. This means that many patients are suffering against their wishes or ending their own lives, either by travelling to Dignitas in Switzerland or at home without medical assistance.
Under this Bill, if a terminally ill patient wishes to end their life two doctors and a High Court judge must be satisfied that all the safeguards have been met. Both doctors must separately and independently examine the patient and their medical records, confirming that they are terminally ill, have mental capacity, are informed about their end-of-life care options and that they have the ability to make a voluntary and informed decision without pressure. All of this is then verified and checked by the judge.
As my elected representative I ask you to represent my views and those of the public by:
1. Supporting this Bill when it has its Second Reading on 11th September.
2. Publicly acknowledging the problems with the current law and engaging in the debate to raise any concerns you have.
You can view the bill here:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/assisteddyingno2.html
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
[Your email here]
[Your address here]
