Opponents in UK cry foul after ‘nonpartisan’ assisted death panel has pro-euthanasia roots

A “citizens jury” from the United Kingdom recently released a report in support of the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Though the jury was supposed to be non-partisan, sources say it was a “set up,” as it was funded by a trust that supports assisted suicide and consisted of people who have ties to pro-assisted suicide campaigns.

According to Sky News, the jury was commissioned by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and was supposed to consist of a randomly-selected panel of members of the public, who convened for eight weeks to “explore the complexity of assisted dying.”

However, as Right to Life UK reports, the panel members “appear to have been a highly partisan selection of people who took extreme positions on the issue of assisted suicide and euthanasia that are not widely supported by the public.” It was also funded with a six-figure grant from the A B Charitable Trust, which previously gave a grant to another organization called Humanists UK “towards work on legalising assisted dying.”

An organization called the Care Not Killing Alliance called into question the jury’s make-up and ties to pro-assisted suicide organizations.

READ: UK disability groups speak out against proposal to legalize assisted suicide

“Disappointingly, we note that the Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics was formerly Director of Compassion in Dying, the charitable arm of Dignity in Dying which campaigns for assisted suicide. Additionally, a leading Council member was previously chair of Compassion in Dying, and the project was funded by a group which has also funded another leading pro-assisted suicide campaign organisation,” said Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO for Care Not Killing.

In its report, the jury supported more extreme forms of assisted dying, such as euthanasia for children and legalized death for those who aren’t terminally ill.

“The Nuffield Citizens’ Jury project was flawed from the outset. It was inconceivable that a project funded by a charity that has made grants in support of legalising assisted suicide and commissioned by a charity whose Director used to be the head of a leading pro-assisted suicide pressure group could reach conclusions that the public could confidently trust to be impartial and balanced,” said Catherine Robinson, Spokesperson for Right To Life UK.

“This particular Jury appears to have favoured extreme measures that would go far beyond what pro-assisted suicide campaigners in the UK claim to support such as the legalisation of euthanasia; jury members also expressed greater support for than opposition to the introduction of assisted dying for minors.”

Lawmakers in the UK are currently considering legislation that would make assisted dying legal.

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