On January 16th, the House of Lords in the UK will be debating Lord Falconer’s “Assisted Dying” bill yet again. (We all know that the term “assisted dying” is crock; and is only being pushed by advocates of assisted suicide because the public reacts more favorably to the term than anything using the word “suicide.”) Members of Not Dead Yet UK are organizing a protest outside while the debate ensues. Here’s the message from NDY UK about the protest:
Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill is debated in the House of Lords for the 2nd time on Friday 16th of January 2015. Led by members of Not Dead yet UK, disabled people will be protesting outside the House of Lords. They will be bearing images of 80 disabled individuals who are unable to travel to Central London and sit for any length of time in the cold, but whose opinions should be heard and valued equally with those of celebrities who support the opposing view. Each image will carry a message from that individual summing up their fears about the legalisation of Assisted Dying.
Disabled people are opposed to any change in the law on Assisted Suicide because they fear it will put their lives at risk. They do not accept that the safeguards proposed in the Bill are adequate.
Not Dead Yet UK believes that when people ask to be assisted to die, this is often in isolation and before everything possible has been done to alleviate their situation in terms of medical, social and emotional support. Fears for the future are the most common reasons for a person to request assisted suicide.
Not Dead Yet UK firmly believes that terminally ill and disabled people need the full protection of the law, especially at times when they, their families and friends may be fearful of the future. That is why we oppose the Assisted Dying Bill.
Obviously, there are many people with disabilities who support the protest but can’t make it there themselves. NDY UK is requesting that as many as people sign up for a “Thunderclap” to help spread the message of our (disability activists) opposition to the legalization of assisted suicide – no matter what you call it.
Just click on this link.
Thunderclap allows easy enrollment for this one and only action – allowing you to customize a message opposing this legislation, as well as participate for as long as you wish. A message will be sent out over twitter, facebook or tumblr on the day of the action (Jan 16) – it’s up to you which platform(s) you want to use to participate.
Here’s a little info about Thunderclap:
Social media is an easy way to say something, but it’s a difficult way to be heard. Thunderclap is the first-ever crowdspeaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together. It allows a single message to be mass-shared, flash mob-style, so it rises above the noise of your social networks. By boosting the signal at the same time, Thunderclap helps a single person create action and change like never before.
That’s it – please join in this Thunderclap and help our brothers and sisters in the UK voice our opposition and resistance to “better dead than disabled” legislation.