Euthanasia Prevention Coalition Working to Skew Polls of Canadian Public Opinion on Assisted Suicide.

The Guardian today reports that the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, headed by Alex Shadenberg, no stranger to readers of this blog, has been working overtime to gather and direct international support for a "no" vote on Canada's proposal to change assisted suicide laws, thus skewing the poll to misrepresent Canadian public opinion:

A powerful umbrella organisation is mobilising opponents of euthanasia around the world to swamp British internet polls so they record comprehensive "no" votes against proposed changes in mercy-killing laws.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, which has offices in London, Canada and California, co-ordinated a "no" campaign against proposed changes to right-to-die laws in several online polls.

Independent opinion polls show a clear majority of the public back a change in the law. But last month EPC supporters deluged a poll by Bath University ahead of a speech by Lord Joffe, who failed to bring in a private member's bill allowing doctors the right to prescribe drugs that a terminally ill patient in severe pain could use to end their own life.

Of the 4,027 people who voted, 3,502 – 87% – said there should be no change in the laws on assisted dying. It transpired that around 3,000 "anti" votes came from the US and Canada. An online poll for the London

Run by Alex Schadenberg in Canada, the EPC has close links to the UK anti-euthanasia body, Care Not Killing. Intercepted emails from Schadenberg, seen by the

Schadenberg did not return calls.