An argument from Rebecca Bensted on a new Euthanasia bill in the UK.

Method for Lobbying Peers

Since any Bill concerning euthanasia will come before the House of Lords for their consideration, it is essential that lobbying peers is one of the tactics employed. Peers must be convinced that such proposals are unnecessary and very dangerous so that even if a Bill were passed by the Commons, it would be blocked by the Lords. It may be sensible to wait until we have the actual wording of a proposed Bill concerning euthanasia so that it can be criticised directly. However, there is also merit in going to visit peers to explain the issues to them in light of the expectation that a euthanasia Bill is imminent.

To this end, peers can be lobbied by writing to Peers.

Although members of the House of Lords do not have constituencies as such, they are still based, through residence, in certain localities. Therefore it makes sense to find out who your 'local' peer is and then to contact them by writing or by e-mail, to explain the concerns about any potential Bill. Having the link of living close by will be a good starting point for the correspondence. Again the briefing information in this article can be used as a template for the contents of any letter.

There is an alphabetical list of members of the House of Lords on the Parliament website.

Once you have located your peer, contact details for the Lords can be found on the Parliament website, or letters can be sent via Westminster to:

House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

The same website can be used for advice on how to use the correct title for a peer when writing to them.

Methods for Lobbying MPs

It is prudent to lobby constituency MPs and raise the concerns you have with any forthcoming Bill in advance of any potential vote by MPs in the coming months.

To this end it is suggested that there are two primary things that can be done:

1) Visits to the MP's constituency surgery.

Face to face visits are the most effective way of communicating the strength of feeling you may have as a Christian about this issue. The following advice may be of use to those wishing to follow this course.

a) For those who want to confirm who their local MP is, the Parliament website's 'Constituency Locata' is a simple way of doing this: