{"id":281,"date":"2005-06-01T23:50:35","date_gmt":"2005-06-01T23:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ccgi.geraldyuen.plus.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2007-02-28T17:24:46","modified_gmt":"2007-02-28T17:24:46","slug":"re-religion-and-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"Re: Religion and Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now here’s something I didn’t expect! Almost a month after the General Election, and I’ve received a response to the email I sent<\/a> to the parliamentary candidates for the constituency I live in. Ah well, better late than never I guess. None of the others have made any response (yet!). I’ve removed his mobile number from his response, as I’m sure he doesn’t want to receive random phone calls from people on the internet, otherwise the rest is a copy and paste operation!<\/p>\n

Dear GeraldFirst of all apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I was
\noverwhelmed with emails in the final days of the campaign and I am only just
\nmanaging to catch up. Let me take each of your questions in turn:<\/p>\n

“1. Abortion – Would you favour a reduction in the term for “social”
\nabortions i.e. those done for any reason other than to save the mother’s
\nlife (at present 24 weeks)? Do you oppose late abortions carried out
\nbecause of foetal abnormalities?”<\/p>\n

With respect to abortion I feel there must be a balance between protection
\nof the rights of the unborn and the mother. I appreciate that new
\nscientific knowledge is challenging current time-limits and would consider
\nthe latest information as and when I found myself making a decision in
\nparliament. I appreciate that this may seem a little like avoiding giving
\nyou a straight answer, but it is not an area I make any claim to be expert
\non. Hence I would explore it in depth at the time and read up on the latest
\nadvice from a range of experts.<\/p>\n

On late abortions carried out because of foetal abnormalities it rather
\ndepends how late you are talking. Generally though I think it is something
\nthat the parents are best deciding, with advice from physicians, rather than
\nthe state.<\/p>\n

“2. Embryo research – Are you opposed to the use of human embryos for a)
\ncloning; b) choosing a child’s gender; c) chimeras (human cells blended
\nwith cells of other species; d) hybrids (human cells implanted in other
\nanimals; e) gathering stem cells?”<\/p>\n

“3. Assisted suicide – Would you oppose any move to make assisted suicide
\neasier (no longer an offence)?”<\/p>\n

This issue was first raised with me when I visited the Convent Care Home in
\nthe Butts, Brentford. As I explained at the time, my view is that today, if
\npeople can afford it, the reality is that they will go overseas –
\nSwitzerland, for example. Hence the priority must become ensuring that
\npeople of all ages are engaged in depth during their education on this
\nissue. This will mean they can come to an informed decision on the matter
\nand appreciate the various perspectives on euthanasia. Personally I can
\nnot honestly say what decision I would come to faced with a terminal illness
\nand chronic pain. Hence I believe others too should be able to make an
\ninformed choice, with the necessary safeguards in place.<\/p>\n

“4. Euthanasia – Do you oppose the provisions of the Mental Capacity Bill
\nwhich a) require hospitals to allow patients with little hope of
\nrecovery to die and b) require patients to be deprived of food and water
\nif they fall into a coma or become too ill to speak for themselves?”<\/p>\n

My view is that we should do a better job of ascertaining people’s desires
\nbefore they get into such a terrible position. Families, doctors and nurses
\ncan then act upon the person’s own wishes rather than speculating.<\/p>\n

“5. Religious hatred – Do you agree that the measure contained in the
\nSerious Organised Crime Bill restricts freedom of speech, particularly
\nfor Christians?”<\/p>\n

Yes I agree that there are elements of the Serious Organised Crime Bill that
\nrestrict freedom of speech and to which I am opposed.<\/p>\n

“6. Civil Partnership – Do you agree that this measure weakens the
\nsanctity of marriage and is misguided?”<\/p>\n

No, I do not believe Civil Partnerships weaken the sanctity of marriage. I
\nbelieve it presents a formalising of many peoples’ co-habitation
\narrangements which for some, may encourage them towards marriage at a later
\ndate. However, crucially I think it can provide children with greater
\nstability.<\/p>\n

“Would you also be willing for your responses to be made known to others?”<\/p>\n

Yes. Please include the caveat that these are brief responses and haven’t
\ngone into any of the nuances\/ complexities that I know exist in these
\ndebates.<\/p>\n

If you would like me to go into further depth on any of these issues please
\ndo not hesitate to contact me again by email.<\/p>\n

Yours sincerely<\/p>\n

Andrew Dakers
\nLiberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson for Brentford & Isleworth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So there you have it. Some interesting responses. If Andrew Dakers decides to stand again in the next election, I shall probably follow up this email closer to the event and cast my vote after a little more consideration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now here’s something I didn’t expect! Almost a month after the General Election, and I’ve received a response to the email I sent to the parliamentary candidates for the constituency I live in. Ah well, better late than never I guess. None of the others have made any response (yet!). I’ve removed his mobile number… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.geraldyuen.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}