THE former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey is among the eight religious leaders to have signed a letter to MPs in support of a Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, from the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, is to be debated on 29 November. MPs will be given a free vote. The Bill seeks to allow life-ending medical help for terminally ill adults with no more than six months to live, in England and Wales (Leader comment and Press, 11 October).
“There is nothing sacred about suffering, nothing holy about agony,” the letter says. “If a terminally-ill person does not wish to live out their last few months in pain, for what purpose should they be forced to do so, and in whose interest is that life being prolonged? It is not a religious kindness to force them to suffer on against their will.”
It was sent last Friday, two days after Lord Carey and another signatory, Rabbi Jonathan Romain, met Ms Leadbeater at her office in Parliament. Lambeth Palace confirmed last week that Ms Leadbeater had also met the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, on the Monday to discuss the Bill.
Other signatories of the letter include a former General Synod member, Canon Rosie Harper; a current Synod member, Canon Valerie Plumb; and a former Dean of Durham, the Very Revd Michael Sadgrove. Liberal Judaism, the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, and Islam are also represented.
“We challenge the notion, as sometimes purported in public discourse, that religious people are monolithically opposed to assisted dying,” they write.
“We know that there are some dying people who are beyond the reach of even the best palliative care. As such, we must be willing to recognise the limits of palliative care and how much harm is inflicted by the status quo: immense suffering in spite of access to the best care.”
In an ad clerum to the diocese of Southwark, issued the same day, the Bishop, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, writes: “It should be recognised that assisted dying will have a disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable in our society. Those who can afford high quality care and/or have caring supportive families will be less likely to consider this option.
“Those whose families have neglected them or who implicitly or directly pressure them for venal reasons will be vulnerable to the message that their life should end. Women are disproportionately vulnerable to coercive relationships.”
Since the Bill had its First Reading last month, other serving bishops have joined the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in making their opposition clear. Archbishop Welby said that the Bill would risk causing “millions of vulnerable people” to feel that they had a “duty” to end their lives (News, 18 October).
The Bill was also discussed at a meeting of the House of Bishops, last week. A note published on the C of E website said that the Bishops spoke about “the importance of investment in palliative care, the potential risks to vulnerable people and possible unintended consequences for those who might feel a burden to others at the end of their lives. The Bishops reflected on the need for compassion for all those involved in the debate and work on the subject.”
The Church Times and Modern Church will be hosting a webinar on assisted dying on Thursday 28 November. Find out more here