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The following article is from the SAVES newsletter, The
VE Bulletin, Vol 17 No 3, November 00
The role of the conscience vote
The forthcoming Dignity in Dying Bill 2000 will probably be the
subject of a 'conscience vote' - more fittingly referred to in Britain
as a 'free vote'. It is the escape route for a political party that cannot
determine policy on an issue because members are irreconcilably divided
over its morality. Unfortunately it does not solve the issue, it merely
sidesteps it.
We all admire those who take a stand on grounds of conscience, who can
say like Luther, 'Here I stand: I can do no other'. No one should be constrained
to act against conscience. But conscience speaks with many tongues. It
has no universal validity and may be appealed to in support of diametrically
opposing views. There can be conflicts of conscience within an individual,
and the individual's conscience may change over time. For some it is a
carefully thought out position, for others it is obedience to the dictates
of a Church. However praiseworthy individual conscience may be, the conscience
vote, which turns all members into Independents, is not a good basis for
decision-making in a parliamentary democracy.
By all means allow a conscience vote, but do not regard it as a means
of reaching a sound conclusion. It provides no substitute for the careful
weighing of the balance of social good and social harm that is appropriate
to such important social issues as IVF, abortion, prostitution, or voluntary
euthanasia.
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