June 29, 2006 -- The British Medical Association voted overwhelmingly to oppose the legalisation of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Commenting on this result, the campaign director of Care NOT Killing, Dr Peter Saunders,said:

Today, the British Medical Association voted overwhelmingly to oppose the legalisation of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Commenting on this result, the campaign director of Care NOT Killing, Dr Peter Saunders,said:

"This is a fantastic result for the many organisations campaigning against euthanasia. It is a very important result in terms of political and public opinion. It means that the medical profession in the UK is now firmly united in its opposition to any form of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide. This sends a very clear message to the public and to MPs – doctors who care for dying patients understand the serious dangers that would arise from legalising euthanasia. They have come a clear conclusion today at the BMA conference that legalised killing would create more problems than it would solve.

"Their verdict - that we need better palliative care for the terminally ill - sends a clear message that what we need to do is to kill the pain and not the patient. The argument that decided this vote and the similar vote in the House of Lords last month is a simple one. For sick and vulnerable patients the danger is that the right to die could become a duty to die as they feel pressure, whether real or imaginary, from family, carers and society at large to request early death.

The BMA vote has rescued patients from embarking upon the slippery slope towards full blown euthanasia in the UK".

ENDS

Motions

That this Meeting:

Notes for Editors

Care NOT Killing is a new UK-based alliance bringing together human rights groups, healthcare groups, palliative care groups, faith groups and concerned individuals.

Care NOT Killing has three key aims:

To promote more and better palliative care

To ensure that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed during the lifetime of the current Parliament

To inform public opinion further against any weakening of the law

Care NOT Killing seeks to attract the broadest support among health care professionals, allied health services and others who are opposed to euthanasia. It is campaigning on the basis of powerful arguments underpinned by the latest, well-researched and credible evidence.

Key groups that have already signed up to join Care NOT Killing include: The Association for Palliative Medicine, the British Council of Disabled People, RADAR, the Christian Medical Fellowship, the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, the Church of England and the Medical Ethics Alliance. 32 organisations have joined the alliance.

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