‘We the undersigned are deeply opposed to any attempt to legalise assisted suicide or euthanasia in the United Kingdom.

Persisting requests for assisted suicide or euthanasia are extremely rare. Experience shows that they almost always disappear when patients’ physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs are properly provided for. Therefore our key priority must be to improve provision of good palliative care and practical support.

To legalise assisted suicide would place large numbers of vulnerable people at risk – in particular those who are depressed, elderly, sick or disabled and those who feel themselves to be under emotional or financial pressure to request early death.

Furthermore any law change would undermine the well-established legal, medical and social principles that people should not be helped to kill themselves and that doctors should not intentionally end life.

Any change in the law to allow assisted suicide or euthanasia would be unnecessary, dangerous and contrary to the common good.'