PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
BBC AND EUTHANASIA (17 October 2005)

That this House notes the biased coverage given by the BBC on 10th October to Lord Joffe, who announced his intention to re-introduce a Bill to legalise physician-assisted suicide; notes Lord Joffe's persistent claim that his Bill will follow the Oregon legislation, which he cites as excellent; further notes, however, that no other state in America has followed the example of Oregon and that 12 states have rejected similar legislation, citing in debates the deleterious effects experienced there; regrets that there was nobody on the programme to raise and clarify such points; further notes that Five Live on the same day interviewed a member of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society who has multiple sclerosis and called for physician-assisted suicide with nobody to give the alternative view; further notes the BBC's failure to take account of the Disability Rights Commission, which takes no moral stand on euthanasia, but is opposed to any such legislation because of the effects on the rights of people with disability, and that every disability rights group in the UK holds the same position; recalls that in 2003 and 2004 honourable Members objected repeatedly to the manner in which the BBC contravened its Charter by persistently supporting the campaign to legalise euthanasia and received no satisfaction regarding protests against the failure of the BBC to interview the disabled or terminally ill unless they declared support for euthanasia; and calls on the Solicitor General to require the BBC to abide by its Charter and to show impartiality on all issues of public policy.

Sponsored by:
Dr Brian Iddon (Labour)