NEW proposals to allow assisted dying in the UK fail to
recognise its "potentially damaging consequences", said a statement released last Thursday by the C of E
Mission and Public Affairs Council.
Responding to a draft Bill from the
All Party Parliamentary Group Choice at the End of Life, the
Council stated that a change in the law allowing people to help
others to die would "have far-reaching and damaging effects on the
nature of our society; a price too great to pay for whatever
perceived benefits they might arguably bring to a few".
Any changes would make it difficult to
promote important messages about suicide prevention and
compassionate end-of-life care, the Council said.
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd
Graham James, has asked for assurances from the Government that
palliative care for terminally ill patients will not suffer from
financial cuts.
He told the House of Lords: "Many
relatives are glad to be volunteer carers, but without good
induction, support, and respite, they can easily become
overextended and exhausted, and their anxiety or disappointment in
themselves disturbs the loved one for whom they are caring."
www.churchofengland.org/media/1583626/assisteddyingbillresp.pdf