The aim of ALERT is to warn people of the dangers of any type of euthanasia legislation and pro-death initiatives. These include the promotion of Living Wills and Advance Directives, which create a climate for the acceptance of euthanasia.

IF you have an urgent message please ring 020 7730 2800.

ALERT was founded in December 1991 to provide well-documented information on these and related issues, and to defend the lives and rights of the medically vulnerable, recognising that all human beings are of equal value.

ALERT defines euthanasia as "any action or omission which is intended to end the life of a patient." The law in every country until recent years protected all citizens against being killed, regardless of their status or condition. The famous exception to this rule was in Nazi Germany.

The law changes the attitude of society towards its members. In 1993 the Law Lords ruled that Tony Bland, in a so-called "Persistent Vegetative State', could be made to die of dehydration. Down the slippery slope from that ruling, patients have been deprived of fluid - without the consent of their families - when only sedation was making them incapacitated. To try to stop this happening, ALERT supported the Patients' Protection Bill.

Living wills also threaten lives. They enable doctors to end the lives of patients, whilst protecting the doctor from civil or criminal liability.

It has never been part of doctors' duty to practise meddlesome medicine and prolong the dying process. But they should never deliberately harm those in their care. ALERT is calling for restoration of the law against homicide, which has served our citizens well for centuries.

ALERT is a British initiative, funded only by donations from people in this country. It works closely with the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide which is the USA's primary source of information opposing Euthanasia. As a campaigning organisation, we are not a charity.

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