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Resist euthanasia clause, say leaders
by Pat Ashworth
 The entrance of the building in Schwerzenbach, Switzerland, where Dignitas assists suicide. PA |
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ASSISTED suicide is the “crudest way possible” of meeting suffering, a Church of England statement suggests. The C of E remains opposed to any change in the law, or medical practice, to make it permissible or acceptable. It summarises its case on a new section of its website. This links to a letter published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, and the Chief Rabbi. The religious leaders urge Parliament to reject an amendment tabled by Lord Falconer to the Coroners and Justice Bill, which seeks to protect from prosecution those who help relatives or friends travel to countries such as Switzerland, where assisted suicide is legal. On Wednesday, the annual representative meeting of the British Medical Association in Liverpool voted overwhelmingly against any change in the law. A move to legalise physician-assisted suicide in Britain was defeated in a House of Lords debate three years ago, which the three religious leaders describe as “heated and impassioned . . . also, by and large, respectful and serious”. They suggest in the letter that the amendment would mark a shift towards legalising euthanasia. It “would surely put vulnerable people at serious risk, especially sick people who are anxious about the burden their illness may be placing on others”, they say. “Moreover, our hospice movement, an almost unique gift of this country to wider humankind, is the profound and tangible sign of another and better way to cope with the challenges faced by those who are terminally ill.” The introduction of euthanasia by the back door has long been a concern. A clause in the Mental Capacity Bill, which allowed patients to sign “living wills” requiring doctors not to resuscitate them if they were in a coma, was defeated in 2004. In 2005, the then Bishop of St Albans, Dr Christopher Herbert, warned that society was “teetering on a slippery slope”, if it allowed the passage of the Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill. The letter drew a strong reaction from Dignity in Dying, which campaigns for greater choice, control, and access to services at the end of life. “The position adopted by the Archbishops and the Chief Rabbi is not based upon the realities of the problem Lord Falconer’s amendment aims to address, but is rather a tactical position based on a religious objection to assisted dying for the terminally ill.” The C of E principles, compiled by the Mission and Public Affairs division of the Archbishops’ Coun-cil, list compassion, commitment to high-quality services, and medication as the way to meet suffering. The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, welcomed their publication on Tuesday. “Parliament has a particular duty to care for the very many who, in illness, pain, fear, and loss of their faculties may be more vulnerable, compared with the resolute and articulate few,” he said. “Parliament also has a duty to defend the integrity and trustworthiness of the medical and nursing professions.” www.cofe.anglican.org/protectinglife |
