ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Senior Tories promise to vote for lower abortion limit

The Daily Mail lists some of the senior Tories who are backing all-party efforts to reduce the time limit for abortions:

• David Cameron favours a cut to 21 or 22 weeks (from the current 24).
• Chris Grayling favours 20 weeks and told the Mail: "If we are in a position where babies can survive at 23 weeks, then 24 weeks is utterly unacceptable."
• Liam Fox: "I am going to vote for a reduction to 20 weeks. Our laws are much too liberal."  During the Conservative leadership race Dr Fox, a former GP, called for a 12 week limit: "I think that a society that actually aborts 180,000 unborn children every year is a society that needs to be asking a lot of questions about itself… For me it's a simple personal belief. It says, thou shall not kill, it doesn't say, thou shall not kill unless Parliament says it's OK."
• William Hague is going to support a lower limit.
• David Davis also is thought to favour a lower limit.
• Andrew Lansley favours a reduction to 22 weeks but also favours a more liberal regime for earlier abortions: "If a woman needs an abortion, then it must be better for that to be an early and medical abortion, rather than later and surgical."

The campaign for twenty weeks is being led by Nadine Dorries MP.  The campaign's website lists twenty reasons why the abortion limit should be reduced to twenty weeks.

Not all Tories are on Ms Dorries' side of the argument.  On her blog she described how John Bercow described her views as "antediluvian" and "prejudiced".  She also writes this:

"Late surgical abortions mean that a baby is dismembered in the womb, and removed limb by limb, head often last.  Professor Anand, incredibly well respected and acknowledged as the world's leading expert in foetal pain, believes that a foetus feels pain as low as 18 weeks gestation. Before the dismembering takes place, the baby is injected with a lethal injection of Potassium into its heart, via the mother's abdominal wall. I will leave it to you to imagine how much distress and pain this may cause the baby."

ConservativeHome wishes her every success with her campaign and we are proud that most senior Tories are on her side.

Nadine Dorries MP launches cross-party campaign to reduce abortion limit to twenty weeks

Image of baby in utero at 18 weeks >

An all-party effort to reduce the abortion time limit to twenty weeks has been launched today - with a front page splash in The Daily Mail.   The campaign which already enjoys the support of 200 MPs and is coordinated by Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, has launched a website.

The website lists twenty reasons for reducing the time limit to twenty weeks.  They include:

• High profile cases of babies surviving well below 24 weeks like Manchester's Millie McDonagh, born at 22 weeks, and the world's most premature baby, Amillia Taylor, who was born a week younger, both in October 2006.
• High resolution 3D ultrasound images, pioneered by Professor Stuart Campbell, have shown babies in amazing detail 'walking', yawning, stretching and sucking their thumbs in the womb.
• In top neonatal units, such as in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 80% of babies born at 24 weeks and 66% of babies born at 23 weeks will survive. Recent figures from University College London are similar.
• Recent research, such as that by Professor Sunny Anand from the University of Arkansas, has shown that fetuses are well enough developed to feel pain down to 18 weeks gestation.
• Stories of babies born alive after botched abortions, as young as 16 weeks, are increasingly common and have understandably shocked the public.
• Britain has the most liberal abortion laws in Europe. A termination can be obtained up to 24 weeks of pregnancy - double the limits in France and Germany and six weeks later than in Sweden or Norway.

Amanda Platell backs the campaign in her Mail column, citing heart-warming stories and changing science:

"A ten-ounce marvel with the most extraordinary fighting spirit, her tiny feet poke through the doctor's fingers.  As the world's most premature living baby, Amillia was born in October 2006 at just 21 weeks.  And this remarkable child not only confounded medical expectation but her very existence poses a conundrum for all of society.  We live in an age in which the chances of survival for a premature baby born before 24 weeks have improved astonishingly. Yet still we cling in Britain to a legal limit of 24 weeks for abortions - a limit that takes no account of recent medical advances and has been in place since 1990."

Below is a YouTube video portraying a scan of an unborn child at twenty weeks.

Vindication for David Cameron as Brown retreats on Embryology Bill

It was two weeks ago that David Cameron challenged Brown at PMQs to follow his lead and grant all MPs a free vote on the Embryology Bill.  Today, after a fortnight of internal pressure from Catholic MPs and from religious leaders, Brown has abandoned his three line whip.

Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Secretary, isn't completely convinced however:

“It remains unclear whether Labour MPs will have to vote against their conscience during the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Over a year ago, we asked the Government to give MPs a free vote on embryology legislation.  Conservative MPs will be given a free vote but Gordon Brown is still dithering today.  In order for the Bill to command public confidence, MPs must be allowed to exercise their judgment. Why doesn’t Gordon Brown understand this? If he really believed that no-one should be forced to vote against their conscience, why did he impose a Whip on Labour Peers when the Bill was in the Lords?”

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has begun a daily campaign on her blog to encourage pro-Embryology Bills in marginal seats to vote against the Bill, that its fiercest opponents have dubbed the 'Frankenstein Bill'.  In today's Times David Cameron warns against demonising the Bill:

"My own view, and I think [that of] many people in the Conservative Party, is we need to update the legislation. This sort of research is important. We all want to see diseases reduced and problems that children have, birth defects, dealt with.”

Cameron supports the 'disability exception' for very late abortions

Clerks of both Houses have confirmed that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill could potentially open up the entire Abortion Act for possible amendment. MPs may vote on a proposal for overdue change in the rule that allows disabled babies to be aborted as late as 39 weeks - up to birth - but the Daily Mail this morning quotes David Cameron as saying he doesn't believe that change in that aspect of the law is necessary at the moment.

For many this issue is first and foremost about disability, not abortion. Disabled people may wonder why the law considers it morally unacceptable to terminate a "normal" baby after 24 weeks (a limit that is in itself the highest in Europe and one Cameron has recently said he would vote to lower), but not a disabled one. The Disability Rights Commission has previously expressed concerns about these double standards in the Abortion Act:

"It reinforces negative stereotypes of disability and there is substantial support for the view that to permit terminations at any point during a pregnancy on the ground of risk of disability, while time limits apply to other grounds set out in the Abortion Act, is incompatible with valuing disability and non-disability equally. In common with a wide range of disability and other organisations, the DRC believes the context in which parents choose whether to have a child should be one in which disability and non-disability are valued equally."

David Cameron pledges to vote for lower abortion limit

This morning's Daily Mail reveals that the Conservative leader will vote for an abortion limit of 20 or 21 weeks should there be an opportunity when the Commons debates the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill:

"I would like to see a reduction in the current limit, as it is clear that, due to medical advancement, many babies are surviving at 24 weeks."

24 weeks being the current abortion limit.  Michael Howard made a similar pledge in March 2005 when he was Tory leader.

Mr Cameron makes it clear, however, that the issue of abortion will remain a free vote in the Conservative Party with every MP, frontbencher and backbencher, able to choose which way that they will vote.

82% of Tory members recently told ConservativeHome that they supported the issue remaining a free vote.  59% agreed with Mr Cameron that the abortion time limit should be lower.

A lower time limit is just one of the legislative options for increasing protection of the unborn child.  Other options (summarised here) include tighter definition of handicap so that minor 'defects' cannot justify late abortions and a policy of fully-informed consent where women considering an abortion are given much more information.

Mr Cameron has previously made it clear that he also opposes euthanasia.

3pm: "Responding to the call, the prime minister's spokesman said the government had no plans to change the law: "He has always made clear that he thinks we should be guided by the best medical advice on this.  At the moment, the key organisations in the medical profession are not pressing for a review in this area.  For example, both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have said they do not believe there is a case for changing the time limits for abortion.  The government has no plans to change the law on abortion.''" (From ePolitix.com).

Tories to review rape laws

5pm update: CWO Chairman introduced Cameron by saying she admired the challenge he put to Brown at conference to call an election, and that "If you have the women on your side you really can't go wrong!". Cameron then said that he had great diet advice: make a speech that everyone tells you is the most important one of your life, and don't use notes. He said he was advised to "ride the dip" during the summer's problems and that sometimes it felt like a journey to the centre of the Earth!

The audience was shocked by his recounting of the sad story of Lindsay Armstrong, and murmured strong approval when he cited the fact that half of young men believe there are times when forced sex is okay as an example of moral collapse. The hall was packed with over 700 women. In addition to David Cameron's end-of-day speech speakers included William Hague on human rights and Sir Christopher Meyer being interviewed by Iain Dale.

1.30pm: Read PDF of Cameron's full CWO speech.

At 5.7% of all cases reported to the police, Britain has the lowest conviction rates for rape in Europe, according to research by the Conservatives.

The research will be unveiled later today by David Cameron when he addresses the Conservative Women's Organisation in a speech he will deliver at the QEII Conference Centre in London.  Amber Rudd, our Hastings and Rye candidate, will be writing a report on the conference for ConservativeHome in the next day or two.

The Conservative leader will note studies that "have shown that as many as one in two young men believe there are some circumstances when it's okay to force a woman to have sex."  "To my mind," he will say, "this is an example of moral collapse."

The speech is covered throughout the newspapers but is splashed in the Daily Mail.  In addition to calling for cultural change to address "over-sexualisation" of British society, Mr Cameron will argue that consent should be taught as a central feature of sex education in schools.  In a further sign of his growing importance to the Tory leader, Nick Herbert, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice will oversee a review of legislation on rape to ensure that punishments are "proportionate to the crime".

PS Last Friday The Daily Mail's Ben Brogan wondered if David Cameron would address the issue of abortion in his CWO speech.  In his blog post he said that the Prime Minister will probably "follow the science and stick with the status quo" on the abortion time limit.  Ben also said that Mr Brown "may hope for signs that the Conservative frontbench is out of synch with public opinion".  I fear that both of Ben's two points are very debateable:

1. The science on the abortion time limit is contested with the majority of MPs on the science and technology committee saying that the current time limit is right but two Tory MPs dissented from that majority.  Ben's own newspaper recently editorialised in favour of the dissenters.  There is international evidence that a foetus can survive outside of the womb before 24 weeks.
2. Ben's second point on public opinion is also contentious.  Recent evidence suggested that the public could be persuaded of tighter abortion laws: "81% supported a "compulsory cooling-off period between diagnosis of pregnancy and abortion."  68% supported "a substantial reduction in the upper time limit for abortion to around 13 weeks, bringing us into line with our European neighbours.""

Tory MPs dissent from report calling for relaxed abortion laws

A report from the Commons' Science and Technology Committee has called for a relaxation of abortion laws including an end to the requirement for two doctors to approve an request for termination of pregnancy.  It's the main story in this morning's Telegraph.

Two Conservative MPs have produced a minority report, however, describing their colleagues' conclusions as "shameful".  The S&TC claims that "there is no scientific basis, on the grounds of viability, to reduce the upper time limit."  But Nadine Dorries and Bob Spink have pointed to ten recent international reports on neo-natal survival that question this conclusion and which were "overlooked" by the Committee.  Nadine Dorries writes:

"The evidence quoted in the Chairman’s report relied entirely on information provided by a ten year old study and the Committee ignored the latest evidence on neo-natal survival rates from the best neo-natal centres in the UK and around the world."

If the time limit for abortion was one area of controversy, the other issue of tension was over the pain that unborn children feel or don't feel in the womb.  Nadine Dorries again believes that the report was one-sided in the evidence it studied:

"There are two schools of thought on foetal pain, experts disagree and there are strong differences of opinion. The RCOG cherry picked their experts in order to agree with a pro-abortion argument. I felt it was important that MPs were aware of the two schools of thought and the nature of the conflicting evidence provided to the Committee.  One school of thought believes that a foetus cannot feel pain until after 26 weeks; and the other school of thought states a foetus can feel pain below 20 weeks; unfortunately only the first school of thought was represented in the Chairman’s report."

A report in the Daily Mail targets LibDem MP Evan Harris.  Nicknamed Dr Death for his zealous support for abortion and euthanasia he succeeded in ensuring that 126 of his amendments were successfully made to the report.  The Mail also reports claims that Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, blocked certain requests to disclose information about how the Committee had made its conclusions.  Dr Bob Spink MP told The Mail that this meant the public had been "denied the facts".

In a short article for The Telegraph, Dr Spink offers his views on what MPs should vote for when the issue of abortion comes before the wider House of Commons:

"I will be arguing for an end to the late abortion of healthy babies; for a reduction from 24 weeks; for a tightening of abortion laws, including resisting home abortions; the retention of two doctors' signatures; clear guidance on what constitutes serious handicap; and much more support for women who must make these heart-wrenching decisions."

Nadine Dorries MP welcomes public support for tighter abortion laws

Earlier today at a House of Commons event attended by Conservative MP Angela Watkinson, a new opinion poll by ComRes for the pro-life charity, Life, was published on public attitudes to abortion.  Here are some key findings of the poll of 1,001 adults:

• 85% agree that "abortion has very serious health consequences both for the health of women and the unborn, and should be regarded as a last resort if it is used at all."
• 59% agreed that "Government should urgently review the law to reduce the number of abortions."
• 91% supported "a woman's legal right to be informed of the physical and psychological risks associated with abortion."
• 81% supported a "compulsory cooling-off period between diagnosis of pregnancy and abortion."
• 68% supported "a substantial reduction in the upper time limit for abortion to around 13 weeks, bringing us into line with our European neighbours."

Nadine Dorries MP welcomed the results in a statement for ConservativeHome:

"The result of the ComRes poll undertaken on behalf of LIFE comes as no surprise. The last twelve months have seen the issue of abortion receive much higher prominence both within the media, politically and the public at large.  Advances in medical technology, 3D scanning and the high visual impact media coverage of healthy baby after baby being born and leaving hospital has largely contributed to the firming up of public opinion.

What is interesting is, that despite the overwhelming body of evidence to support a reduction in the upper limit from 24 to 13 weeks, and a well identified public preference in favour, the majority of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs are determined to amend the Human Tissue and Embryology Bill, which comes before the House in the autumn in order to relax the law, making abortion easier to obtain."

The MP for Mid-Bedfordshire has also also written about the issue on her blog.

Amanda Platell wrote a very moving article in yesterday's Daily Mail about this issue.

Cornerstone blog criticises Catholic Church on abortion

You recently voted for Nadine Dorries MP as your favourite parliamentary blogger.  Up until now the relatively new Cornerstone blog has been a pretty plodding affair (all posts have the same 'Thought for the day' headline and there is no option to leave comments) but the MP for Mid-Bedfordshire appears determined to liven things up with her post of today.

Her post is a response to Cardinal Keith O'Brien's much-reported homily of last week (full text here).  In his homily the Cardinal said that the arguments for David Steel's forty year-old Abortion Act amounted to a pack of lies:

"We were told that backstreet abortions were killing women and had to be decriminalised. We were told abortion would only be used in extreme cases. We were told medical scrutiny would be rigorous. We were told a lies and misinformation masquerading as compassion and truth.  The scale of the killing is beyond our grasp. In Scotland we kill the equivalent of a classroom full of school children every day."

Although Nadine Dorries offers some kind words to Cardinal O'Brien - welcoming the attention his remarks will bring to the "unacceptably high number" of abortions - she is largely unimpressed.

Nadine Dorries campaigns for 'a woman's right to know'

Abortion will be on the Commons' agenda today as Tory MP Nadine Dorries MP introduces a Ten Minute Rule Bill concerning terminations of pregnancy (BBC and Nadine's own blog).

The Conservative backbencher declares herself to be in favour of a woman's right to choose but wants a reduction in the number of abortions.  The TMRB has no chance of becoming law but Nadine Dorries is committed to using other parliamentary opportunities, including Westminster Hall debates, to draw public attention to the issue as part of a concerted, long-term campaign. 

Today's TMRB enjoys the support of former Tory leaders Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard.  It has three components:

1. A reduction in the abortion time limit from 24 to 21 weeks.  The 21 week limit reflects the latest scientific evidence on foetal sentience (the unborn child's response to pain and sound) rather than viability (the unborn child's likelihood of surviving outside of the womb).  The image on the right is of an unborn child of 24 weeks.  More images and a movie can be seen here via the orange/ brown link on the Create Health website.
2. A full-informed consent to abortion after a cooling-off period - 'a woman's right to know'.  Nadine Dorries: "Such a cooling-off period is necessary, because the decision to terminate a pregnancy or not is one with which the woman concerned will have to live for the rest of her life. It is imperative that this decision is fully considered, and that all the necessary help and advice is available for her to make an informed decision. This part of the bill is designed to enforce a woman’s right to know.  There is no pressure on a woman to decide either way. The woman does indeed have the right to choose. The cooling-off period gives her this time to reflect on her decision. It is also a time when parents, partners, boyfriends etc will have to stand back and give the woman time to reflect."  This is at the heart of the TMRB and where introduced in other parts of the world has produced significant reductions in the number of terminations.
3. Timely access to abortion once a woman has made a "fully informed and empowered decision" to terminate her pregnancy.

Download brief PDF guide_to_Nadine_Dorries'_TMRB.

Endnote: 187 to 108 MPs reject Nadine Dorries' attempt to amend abortion laws - BBC

John Hayes MP pursues Cardinal's call for abortion law reform

John Hayes, Chairman of the Cornerstone Group of Tory MPs, yesterday urged Leader of the House Jack Straw to facilitate a Committee of both Houses to examine Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor's call for a review of abortion law.  31 MPs have, so far, signed a Commons motion backing the call.  Before last year's General Election Michael Howard expressed sympathy for a lower abortion limit.

The abortion laws were once coupled with the Infant Life Preservation Act which was interpreted by some to mean that foetuses that could survive outside of the womb, independently, could not be aborted.  Advances in the technologies that treat premmaturely-born babies mean that many of the 3,000 unborn children aborted after 20 weeks' gestation could probably survive.  The current abortion limit is 24 weeks.  A recent Observer/ MORI poll found that "47% of women believe the legal limit for an abortion should be cut from its present 24 weeks, and another 10% want the practice outlawed altogether".

Mr. Straw rejected Mr Hayes' request for a Joint Committee but suggested that the Select Committee on Health could establish its own inquiry.  Mr Hayes has told ConservativeHome that he now intends to petition the Health Select Committee to hold such an enquiry.

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Related link: Bob Spink MP calls for a review of abortion laws

Tory MP calls for a review of abortion laws

Two abortion stories hit the headlines over the weekend.  One concerned the rapid growth in so-called "bedroom abortions" via the controversial 'EMA' abortion pill.   The pill is controversial because of worries over its safety.  The other story, broken in The Sunday Times,  concerned the revelation that "more than 20 babies have been aborted in advanced pregnancy because scans showed that they had club feet."

There have been calls for the police to investigate termination of unborn babies with webbed fingers or club feet.  The 1967 Abortion Act allowed for abortion when there was a risk of "severe" physical or mental handicap but these 'defects' can be easily corrected by splints, plaster casts, minor surgery or physiotherapy.

Conservative MP Bob Spink has told today's Daily Mail that Britain's 40-year-old abortion laws need to be reviewed:

"It is nearly 40 years since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed and science has made tremendous advances.  Public opinion has changed, partly as a result of huge improvements in the imaging of the unborn child.  Parliament is not reluctant to grapple with the issue.  A Communications Research survey showed that nine in 10 MPs want the abortion law to be reviewed continuously in the light of advances in medical science... There is a political will to act - in the last election, all three party leaders called for a review of the timing of abortion - so why has action not been taken?"

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Related link: Making abortion rare.

David Cameron opposes euthanasia

In the House of Lords today peers will debate Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying Bill.  Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and Archbishop Rowan Williams gave a joint interview on this morning's Today programme to underline their objections to assisted dying.  With the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, they have also written to The Times, warning that "any change in the law would irrevocably change the delicate relationship of trust between patient and doctor and between citizen and society."

On the right is a letter from David Cameron stating his personal opposition to "any Bill legalising euthanasia or assisted dying".  Mr Cameron writes of his fears that "if assisted dying is legalised, terminally ill people may feel pressurised into ending their lives if they feel they have become a burden on loved ones". 

Mr Cameron has made it clear that this will not be a whipped issue and Conservative parliamentarians will be entitled to a free vote as they are allowed on other issues of conscience.

Earlier this week ConservativeHome discussed an opinion poll that found that two out of three people fear that Joffe's bill could put vulnerable patients under unnecessary pressure. 

On YourPlatform today, Alex Deane, former Chief of Staff to David Cameron, makes the case against euthanasia.

Two Tories warn against slippery slope to euthanasia

Yesterday's Sunday Telegraph reported that "vulnerable people could feel under pressure to commit suicide if a controversial assisted suicide Bill becomes law."  The newspaper reported that two out of three people fear that it could put vulnerable patients under unnecessary pressure.  Three-quarters of people thought that Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill could influence doctors to end lives.

Melissa Kite's Sunday Telegraph report was based on a Communicate Research survey for the Care Not Killing Alliance. CNK describes itself as "a UK-based alliance of individuals and organisations which brings together human rights groups, healthcare groups, palliative care groups and faith-based organisations."  It aims to promote palliative care and oppose assisted suicide.

The concerns of the Care Not Killing Alliance won public support from two influential Tories today - Michael Gove MP and The Daily Telegraph's Danny Kruger.  Mr Gove told ConservativeHome:

"We all have a duty to do what we can to protect innocent life. There is a worrying contemporary move to dismantle the protections which still exist to safeguard the right to life. Increasingly we are being invited to consider an individual's quality of life and accept the termination of life if it does not pass a particular threshold. This trend takes us from a position of security for the vulnerable into a twilit world where clear ethical standards can more easily be breached. All those of us concerned for the voiceless and vulnerable should raise our voices to warn of the consequences of proceeding down this morally fraught path."

Boris Johnson "inclined" to back Assisted Dying Bill

Tory MP Boris Johnson has used his Telegraph column to discuss Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill.   Pro-life groups have produced excellent briefings against the Bill (see, for example, here) but Mr Johnson is minded to support the right-to-die at the heart of the legislation:

"The closer I study Lord Joffe's Bill, the more inclined I am to think it reasonable. It is full of restrictions - notably that death must be only a few months away at most; and all sorts of attestations are demanded from doctors and solicitors.  I can see all the disadvantages, and if the law were to be changed, then it would need careful review, to make sure that people were not coming under any pressure whatever to take their lives. But I think it might be better than seeing increasing numbers of British people forced to take their lives in a foreign country."

'WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A RELATIVE...'

Mr Johnson attempts to directly address the fear that a right-to-die might quickly become a duty-to-die:

"It is certainly possible to imagine that, if assisted suicide were legal in this country, then old, confused and pain-racked people could start protesting that they "didn't want to be a burden", and their exhausted and demoralised relatives could indeed begin to persuade themselves that this was the best solution.  That is the reason why many people will oppose the Joffe Bill on assisted suicide, currently in the Lords. I completely understand their reasons; and yet we should also be clear what we are saying to people such as Dr Turner, and the doctors who might be tempted to help them out of their misery.  Sorry, we say: you are physically incapable of taking your own life (an action decriminalised in this country in 1961), and therefore we must sentence you to whatever physical and mental tortures your mortal biology may send you, for the term of your natural life. If necessary, you must go on and on in unbearable pain, and any doctor who helps you to die will be liable to 14 years in prison."

The "unbearable pain" argument is hotly disputed by pro-lifers who point to significant advances in palliative medicine and Britain's globally-respected hospice movement.  Some of the best arguments against the Joffe Bill were put by Rowan Williams in a recent op-ed in the Mail on Sunday.  These were the Archbishop of Canterbury's main concerns:

• The end of the 'do no harm' principle: "If we say that people have a right to die in some circumstances, does this create a duty on the part of doctors and nurses to bring about death?"
• Conscientious objections: "What are the safeguards for the right of medical professionals to refuse [to end a patient's life] on conscientious grounds?"
• Patient-doctor trust: "What will be the effect of legislation be on trust in the medical profession?"
• A right-to-die becomes a duty-to-die: "Will there be a suspicion or fear that pressure will be brought to bear on those in terminal or extreme conditions to ask for 'assisted dying'?"
• Resource constraints lead to euthanasia: "Will individuals or their families - not to mention doctors and nurses - be able to cope with the feeling of unspoken pressure to save scarce resources?"  The Archbishop of Canterbury notes that elderly people are already moving away from Holland and Switzerland (where voluntary euthanasia is legal) because of fears of what might happen to them when they need medical care.
• Legal euthanasia reduces the incentive to invest in pain control and other medical research: "Can we be sure that high-quality research will continue into ageing, dementia and pain control, when there is a swifter and less costly option available in the form of 'assisted dying?'" and similarly, "Will this legislation undermine investment in palliative provision?"

During the run-off stage of the leadership election ConservativeHome asked the two candidates if they would support Joffe-type legislation.  David Cameron's answer was simple and direct.  He replied "no".