Last week Parliament rushed through two historic social changes which will have profound consequences for British life – decriminalising abortion up to birth and legalising assisted dying.
Legal changes to abortion and assisted dying raise serious moral questions. The value of a human life, whether at the start or end of its journey, is a question that mankind has asked itself for millennia. You might think then that Parliament would provide ample time to scrutinise and debate policies which bring into question the sanctity of life. You would be wrong.
The move to decriminalise abortion which, in effect, legalises abortion up-to-birth by removing any legal deterrent, was tacked onto the Crime and Policing Bill by a Labour MP on a Tuesday evening. The debate, in which I was one of fewer than 30 MPs who turned up and spoke, consisted of 46 minutes of backbench contributions and the fastest speech by a government minister I have ever heard. Such a fundamental change to our laws on abortion warrants its own bill.
What’s worse, Kier Starmer wasn’t even in the country for this momentous vote – instead, he was rubbing shoulders with world leaders across the pond in Canada. Yet again, rather than being forthright with the British public, Starmer has shirked the difficult decisions and left it up to one of his backbenchers.
Later in the week came MPs final vote in the House of Commons on assisted dying. Passed with a narrow majority of 23 votes, it is now very likely that we will be asking doctors to break their Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” and help kill the ill, rather than heal them. What’s more, the safeguards we were promised have already been watered down. The requirement for a High Court judge to approve assisted dying applications has been dropped. I have warned about a ‘slippery slope’ and doubt very much that it will stop with judges.
The British people did not give this Labour Government a mandate to enact these huge social changes. How many times was abortion or assisted dying referenced in Starmer’s 2024 Manifesto? Not once. You have to ask yourself then, why are Labour in such a hurry to force these changes through the back door?
I want to thank every constituent that wrote to me to share their considered opinions on these changes. As a Member of Parliament, I am embarrassed. Whether you're pro-life or pro-choice, for or against assisted dying, this is no way to make legislation. Our parliament, the so-called ‘mother of all parliaments’, is meant to stand as a shining light of democracy to the world, where scrutiny and open debate provide the most robust possible legislation. What we witnessed last week was a cheap imitation.
Serving as your MP is the privilege of a lifetime, but I know we can do so much better.
Sign up for free below to get notified with all the latest breaking news from Plymouth Plus.
