London, England, Feb 26, 2010 / 01:15 am
The Archbishop of Cardiff has welcomed revised government guidelines on assisted suicide, saying that passages of concern have been removed so that there is now greater protection for the most vulnerable. He added that there is now greater emphasis on the fact that no one is being given immunity from prosecution.
Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), on Thursday published his policy on whether to prosecute those who are suspected of aiding someone who commits suicide.
“The policy is now more focused on the motivation of the suspect rather than the characteristics of the victim,” he said in a statement at the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) website. “The policy does not change the law on assisted suicide. It does not open the door for euthanasia. It does not override the will of Parliament. What it does is to provide a clear framework for prosecutors to decide which cases should proceed to court and which should not.”
According to the Telegraph, one of the key changes is the removal of any reference to whether a victim is terminally ill or near death.