MPs to vote on assisted dying

Assisted suicide is in the news this month, and will likely remain there for the next few months, as a bill has been introduced in parliament to ‘allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life’. The bill, introduced privately by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, is not the only proposed legislation in parliament. Lord Falconer also has an ‘assisted dying for terminally ill adults’ bill in the House of Lords.

Church leaders have issued statements or spoken in interviews during the many previous attempts to change the law, including in 2015, when a House of Commons bill was defeated by 330 votes to 118.

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, characterised the current bill as a ‘slippery slope’, and said in a statement that ‘legalising assisted suicide would disproportionately impact many millions of vulnerable people, who might perceive themselves as a burden on those around them and the health service. My concern is that once you can ask for assisted suicide, it soon becomes something that you feel that you ought to do. Permission slips into being duty. This does not represent true choice for all, and I worry that no amount of safeguards will ensure everyone’s safety at the most vulnerable point of their lives.’

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, wrote a pastoral letter in which he said: ‘Once assisted suicide is approved by the law, a key protection of human life falls away. Pressure mounts on those who are nearing death, from others or even from themselves, to end their life in order to take away a perceived burden of care from their family, for the avoidance of pain, or for the sake of an inheritance.’

In contrast, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said that the response of faith leaders was largely based on fear. He told the Guardian: ‘The sad history of scientific exploration often led by Christian lay men and women is that church leaders have often shamefully resisted change. Let’s not follow that trend. Let’s be on the side of those who, at the end of their lives want a dignified, compassionate end to their lives.’

Commenting on George Carey’s intervention, Sonia Sodha, chief leader writer of the Observer, said that reducing the complexity of the debate to a contest between kindness and conservatism is a mistake. ‘When even senior members of the clergy fall into this trap, it is a sign of just how much social media has collapsed public discourse into a simple question of right or wrong,’ she said. Sodha has previously commented that a rushed UK law is not appropriate to the seriousness of the issue.

Nick Spencer, of the religion, politics and society thinktank Theos, agrees, saying that the debate will need to draw on careful reasoning and good evidence: ‘What is the balance of public opinion? How does it vary according to the question asked? What are the fears of people facing death? What are the medical options available for palliative care? What are the mechanisms for assisted suicide? What do physicians think about this? What has happened in other countries in which assisted suicide has been introduced? All this is relevant and important.’

Kim Leadbeater’s bill will be debated on 29 November, and MPs will be allowed a free vote on the issue so that they can decide according to individual conscience.

Resources

We found some useful resources on the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide:

BBC News explainer of the current situation and the proposed change in the law

Church of England paper on assisted suicide, which is part of the Church’s toolkit of resources on medical ethics, health and social care

Euthanasia and Euphemism – a short paper from the Anscombe Bioethics Centre defining the terms of the debate

Living and Dying Well website – which provides ‘research and analysis of the evidence surrounding the “assisted dying” debate’

Campaign for Dignity in Dying – which campaigns for ‘greater choice, control and access to services at the end of life’

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