A BLACKPOOL MP has backed a bid to outlaw euthanasia attempts by saying that people should not be allowed to "play God".

Gordon Marsden, Labour MP for Blackpool South, has supported a Bill in parliament to ban the withholding of medical treatment if the purpose is to cause death.

He also spoke of its positive effect on the relationship of trust which should exist between doctor and patient.

The Bill, proposed by Congleton Tory MP Ann Winterton, is now in its second reading, showing that party boundaries have not effected this emotive issue which has strong all-party support.

Mr Marsden stayed to join the debate on January 28 to add his support to the Medical Treatment Bill, which is designed to halt "the slide towards euthanasia."

During the debate Mr Marsden quoted a hospice doctor who had written to him about the practice of withdrawing food and water to bring about the death of a patient more quickly.

He said: "Providing water is a simple duty to avoid distress. "Withdrawing it puts doctors in a new world of value judgements."

Mr Marsden then went on to add his own feelings about doctor-patient relationships.

He said: "I have thought long and hard about this issue before deciding to support the Bill and I have received considerable correspondence in its favour from constituents.

"These are desperately difficult judgements to make.

"The Bill would not prevent the relief of pain with morphine for terminally ill cancer patients, nor would it artificially prolong dying.

"But it does send out a clear signal that it is not for doctors to make value judgements about quality of life.

"It should also reassure the elderly, frail relatives of Down's syndrome patients and others who have been alarmed at the drift towards 'playing God' which could erode the trust between doctor and patient."

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