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Suicide Bill Defeat Celebrations

Many figures in politics and the media have celebrated the defeat of the Assisted Sucide bill..

Writing in The Telegraph, non-affiliated Peer and former editor of The Spectator Lord (Charles) Moore said that the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill was “a victory for a society which cares for the vulnerable”. 

Moore, who participated in many of the debates on the assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, detailed how he was impressed by the many people who spoke up “for those who could not do so”. 

Despite claims from supporters of the assisted suicide Bill that the House of Lords acted inappropriately and the House of Commons came to the wrong decision, Moore rejected that characterisation, describing the process as “a counter example of Parliament working well”.

“This was the fourth unsuccessful attempt this century to allow people to get state help to kill themselves”, he added. “There cannot be another in this Parliament. Surely there should not be another in this generation”.

Baroness (Rosa) Monckton, a Conservative Peer and opponent of the assisted suicide Bill, agreed that both Houses of Parliament came together to defeat the legislation, saying, “We did our bit, and they did theirs”. 

Writing in The Telegraph, Monckton shared that many people were battling against the assisted suicide Bill on behalf of people with Down’s syndrome, including her 31-year-old daughter, Domenica.

Monckton argued that people with Down’s syndrome or other learning disabilities, like Domenica, “could be easily coerced into making a life-or-death decision”. 

She recalled that Damian Hinds MP, who is now the Shadow Health Secretary, tabled an amendment to the assisted suicide Bill designed to protect people with Down’s syndrome from the legislation; however, members of the Bill committee, including the Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, voted down the amendment.

“Why? On what possible grounds? Such a lack of understanding and compassion is incomprehensible to me”, Monckton said.

She said that, when the Bill was rejected on Friday, she “felt overwhelming relief”, adding that she was “proud to play a small part in this”.

It was the viewpoint of The Telegraph itself, not just Monckton, that the House of Lords “did its job and prevented the Commons from rushing into enacting legislation that would have transformed the country”, arguing in its lead article that “the Lords have proved their worth”.

Victory for Sacked Pro-Life Teacher

A Roman Catholic supply teacher has won an out-of-court settlement after being unceremoniously sacked for her pro-life views. Sarah Morse was fired for telling students she was against abortion but has now received a payout from the school involved.

Sarah sued Arbroath High School for unfair dismissal, after it terminated her temporary contract following a brief class discussion on “religion and abortion”.

But prior to last month’s scheduled employment tribunal, at which Morse was seeking compensation for loss of pay and damages “for being cancelled”, the school resolved the dispute in an undisclosed financial settlement.

Last year, Morse was quizzed about her views on a number of ‘hot button’ topics from a US perspective by a group of third-year pupils.

In an interview with the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), who supported the teacher’s legal challenge, Morse recalled: “I hear from one corner of the room, ‘Well, what do you think about abortion?’.”

“I thought for a second and I said, ‘Well, as a faithful Roman Catholic, I don’t support it. I don’t agree with it.’”

When pressed on whether she was also against abortion in the case of rape, she responded that “actually, in the case of rape as well, because I don’t think it’s right to punish, you know, an innocent child for the bad things their parents did”.

Morse continued: “Towards the end of the day, the last class, I got an email from the finance minister of the school saying, ‘Can you please, you know, stop by? I have a few things I need to talk to you about.”

When she attended the meeting, the manager fired Morse on the spot. The explanation given to Morse for her dismissal was the headteacher’s disapproval of how she shared her views on abortion during class.

Reflecting on the event, Morse told The Times: “At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. I taught them that it is possible to have hard conversations with respect and that disagreement is a natural part of a free society.”