UK Bishops ramp up fight to stop legalisation of assisted suicide

The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland have redoubled their effort to fight off attempts to legalise assisted suicide in the UK.

Scotland’s bishops joined Church of Scotland and Muslim leaders in signing a statement at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, emphatically opposing the private member’s Bill of Liam McArthur to allow terminally-ill patients to demand that doctors and nurses help them to kill themselves.

On the same day, the bishops of England and Wales published a strongly-worded submission to the select committee on assisted suicide in Westminster, warning MPs and peers that a change in the law would put the lives of the vulnerable in grave danger.

The Scottish statement came as the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is being prepared for introduction into the Scottish Parliament later this year.

The three faith groups “remain firm in their opposition to assisted suicide and euthanasia” and called upon MSPs “to consider carefully the implications of this Bill, to express their concerns, and to vote against it”.

They said the Bill “would make it legal, in certain circumstances, to help people to commit suicide”. 

“Our faith traditions are united in the principle that assisted dying in itself inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person, and to allow it would mean that our society as a whole loses its common humanity,” the statement said.

“We grieve with those who grieve and identify with those who suffer,” it continued. “We acknowledge the sincerely held motivation of those seeking change, but do not believe that this is the correct approach to the alleviation of suffering. There is a very real danger that once legalised, these practices could put pressure on vulnerable individuals to opt for assisted suicide.”

The statement added: “The ways in which similar laws in other countries are being applied, and the effect that its introduction would have on some of the most vulnerable in our society, including the disabled and the elderly, would be extremely detrimental. We are called to care for those who are suffering, not to end their lives.”

It was signed by Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, vice-president of the Bishops’ Conference, signed the statement with the Rt Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland and Imam Shaykh Hamza Khandwalla, Imam of Dundee Central Mosque on behalf of the Scottish Association of Mosques.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal in all parts of the United Kingdom and assisting in a suicide is punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Suicide Act 1961.

Euthanasia activists have been relentless, however, in fighting for a change in the law. 

In London, in his submission to the select committee, Auxiliary Bishop John Sherrington of Westminster, the lead bishop on life issues of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, was forthright in his condemnation of assisted suicide.

He said: “Assisted suicide is inherently wrong and the evidence from other jurisdictions shows there can be no safe or limited assisted suicide law.

“The Catholic Church teaches that life is a gift to be cherished and cared for at all stages until natural death and that it is morally wrong to intentionally end the life of another person, including at their request,” he said.

“Arguments in support of legalising assisted suicide are based on flawed ideas of autonomy, compassion, and ‘dignity in dying’,” he said.

“Appeals for assisted suicide are often based on a false view of ‘compassion’ which fails to address the reality of suffering that is part of being human,” he said. “Those who advocate for assisted suicide based on so-called ‘dignity in dying’ ultimately pass judgement on the value of human life according to its abilities rather than its inherent value.”

Bishop Sherrington added: “Legalising the intentional killing of patients would gravely undermine the vocation of healthcare professionals to care for life until its natural end. Trust between doctor and patient would be undermined by the difficulty in accurately predicting the outcome of terminal illness.

“No doctors’ groups in the UK support assisted suicide, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, and the Association for Palliative Medicine.”

Bishop Sherrington said that a change in the law “would likely result in the dangerous degradation of people living with disabilities, effectively reducing the value of life to its physical or psychological capabilities such that those living with disabling, terminal, or progressive conditions could easily become disillusioned with their lives to the extent that they see death as preferable”.

He added: “Evidence from countries where assisted suicide has been legalised demonstrates that those who seek it often report a fear of burdening their loved ones with their suffering, which is particularly concerning for those who are elderly and infirm. The fear of being burdensome would be amplified by the current health and social care crises and cost-of-living crisis.”

The bishop argued that evidence from jurisdictions where assisted suicide was legal revealed that reality of the “slippery slope” towards expansive interpretations of the law.

He said that the US state of Oregon, “often referenced as a model template for mild assisted suicide legislation, now allows assisted suicide for non-terminal conditions including anorexia, arthritis, and kidney failure”.

“Canada, legally and culturally very similar to England and Wales, now offers assisted suicide when death is not ‘reasonably foreseeable’,” Bishop Sherrington said.

“Belgium has expanded their provision of assisted suicide to include children. Any legalisation of assisted suicide for terminal illnesses in England and Wales would likely be challenged in court on discrimination grounds and extended to allow for cases of non-terminal illnesses and euthanasia in cases of difficulties in self-administering lethal medication.”

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