Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine spoke passionately in a debate on assisted suicide, held in the House of Commons on Tuesday 27th March.
The MP spoke in favour of a motion, tabled by Conservative Richard Ottaway, backing guidance issued in 2010 by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The guidance explains that a decision to prosecute someone who helps another person to die must be in the public interest, and take into account the motivations of the suspect.
Crucially, the motion simply asked MPs to express support—or otherwise—for the principle set out in the DPP's policy statement.
Speaking in the debate, the substantive one since the Suicide Act itself in 1961, Steve said: "I have been contacted by a large number of constituents in advance of today's debate. I know that many people in my constituency and across our country would wish either that we were not debating this at all or that we were considering a new law to allow doctor-assisted dying."
The 2010 guidelines were the result of a case brought by Debbie Purdy, a terminally ill woman, who in 2009 won a ruling from the Law Lords requiring the DPP, Keir Starmer, to set out whether her husband would be committing an offence if he accompanied her to Dignitas to end her life. In response, Mr Starmer listed factors which should weigh for or against a presecution, including whether the victim had reached a 'voluntary, clear, settled and informed' decision and whether they had acted 'wholly compassionately'.
Steve continued: "Like many hon. Members taking part in this debate, I have watched many people I love slip away. I can honestly say to this House that the question of whether I personally would have intervened at those times—or was even asked—to ease suffering never so much as crossed my mind or was ever discussed. I remember feeling a massive sense of relief when the suffering was over, but I never had a thought about expediting the end. Perhaps the fact that I have a strong Christian faith, or perhaps just the sheer numbness one can feel at those times, accounted for that. In all honesty, I still do not know which it was."
He then went on to discuss palliative care, saying: "Good palliative care, which my family have been fortunate enough to have received, should be much more widely available—and the hospice movement should be a bigger sector—so that it is genuinely available as an option for all. Good end-of-life care can provide precious moments for loved ones facing their day of parting."
He then illustrated the strength of feeling from across Winchester & Chandler's Ford, and highlighted an example from a recent email sent by a constituent.
Steve concluded:" The DPP's policy strikes a reasoned and balanced approach, which combines upholding the law of the land, meeting his statutory duties under that law and judging that it is not always in the public interest to prosecute those who have compassionately assisted a loved one to move on to the next stage in the great journey we are all embarking upon. I support the motion."
More information...
You can read the whole debate on Hansard here and watch back here.
You can download the DPP's policy via Richard Ottaway's website at http://www.richardottaway.com/key-issue-as.asp.