Churches, faith groups join forces in Britain against 'deceptive' assisted suicide bill

OXFORD, England (OSV News) -- Churches and faith groups across the United Kingdom have condemned a bill to allow physician-assisted suicide and stepped up efforts to block its Nov. 29 approval by parliamentarians.

"The vote will be very close -- many members of Parliament, elected only recently, are having to decide on a life-or-death ethical issue they haven't considered before," explained Timothy Dieppe, head of public policy for the ecumenical organization Christian Concern.

"If they vote against this bill, it will send a powerful signal worldwide that assisted suicide isn't inevitable and doesn't constitute progress."

The theologian spoke as a joint statement from the English, Welsh and Scottish bishops' urged opposition to the "Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill," tabled by Kim Leadbeater from the governing Labour Party, which would allow life-ending medical help for terminally ill adults over age 18.

In an OSV News interview, he said political and media momentum was growing against the bill, which would overturn Britain's 1961 Suicide Act and violate "all major religious traditions and ethical codes."

Meanwhile, a veteran Catholic campaigner said the "deceptively named" bill lacked public support and had been criticized by top judges and medical professionals.

"When MPs last rejected such legislation, they were given almost two months to scrutinize it -- this time they've had less than two weeks," Lord David Alton, a human rights advocate, told OSV News.

"With many elderly people going into winter with their fuel allowances cut and palliative care services in crisis, the government's own health secretary has warned of a chilling scenario in which patients are pressured into ending their lives."

Though personally backing the bill, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised MPs a "free vote" on the measure, which says adults with no more than six months to live must obtain court approval, evidencing a "clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life" without being "coerced or pressured."

In a Nov. 11 press release, the pro-suicide Dignity in Dying organization said the 43-clause bill was "the most detailed, robust proposal on assisted dying" ever considered by the British parliament, and would "end the cruel and dangerous status quo, while introducing new safety measures."

However, several Catholic bishops, including Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster, have urged citizens in pastoral letters to petition legislators against the bill.

In their Nov. 14 joint statement, the bishops said experience showed "promised safeguards are soon forgotten," warning the bill would "fundamentally damage" doctor-patient relations and "radically alter the ethos of trust and support."

"In the discussion around assisted suicide, so much is made of freedom of choice and autonomy; but autonomy is not absolute and must always be placed within the context of the common good," the bishops said.

"We appeal to those who share our Catholic belief in human dignity and sanctity of life, including fellow Christians, other religious people, and people of reason and good will, to join with us in defending the weakest and most vulnerable."

A bishops' conference spokesman told OSV News the statement had prompted more parliamentarians to "contact their local bishops" about assisted suicide, and encouraged "substantial and rightful indignation" against the bill from disability groups.

Seven European countries -- Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland -- currently permit assisted suicide, while the practice is also allowed in 11 of 50 US states. Austria, Finland, and Norway allow passive euthanasia under strict circumstances.

A previous bill on assisted suicide was defeated by 330 votes to 118 in Britain's lower House of Commons in September 2015, while an August survey highlighted public fear the practice could be encouraged to ease pressures in the National Health Service.

A local "Assisted Dying Bill" was rejected Oct. 1 by the Scottish government, which ruled it lay "outside the legislative competence" of the devolved parliament, while a motion supporting Leadbeater's bill was voted down Oct. 23 in the Welsh Senedd assembly.

In a Nov. 18 statement with other Welsh faith leaders, Archbishop Mark O'Toole of Cardiff-Menevia said the bill marked a "very serious moment" for the country.

"As people of faith, we share a common heritage of caring for the vulnerable, the sick and dying," said the statement, co-signed by Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu leaders.

"Life is sacred," the statement said. "Compassion is at the heart of all the Great World Religions."

In a statement released Nov. 24, Cardinal Nichols and Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham were among nearly 30 religious leaders representing several faiths -- including Jewish, Muslim, Coptic Orthodox, Hindu, Zoroastrian, evangelical, Greek Orthodox, Jainism, Sikh, Pentecostal and the Assyrian Church -- who again urged the assisted suicide bill be rejected and the current law be left in place.

Acknowledging "how complex and weighty this topic is," they said, "Our pastoral roles make us deeply concerned about the impact the bill would have on the most vulnerable, opening up the possibility of life-threatening abuse and coercion. This is a concern we know is shared by many people, with and without faith."

"We believe that a truly compassionate response to the end of life lies in the provision of high-quality palliative care services to all who need them," they said. The faith leaders said that compassionate care, "along with the natural processes of dying," allows "those at the end of their life to experience important moments. We have seen relationships repair and families reconcile. We have seen lives end in love."

"While there are many examples of excellent palliative care in this country, it remains worryingly underfunded. Investment in palliative care is the policy of a truly compassionate nation," the added. "It is the way to ensure that everyone in society, including the most vulnerable, receive the care they deserve at the end of life."

In his OSV News interview, Dieppe said the rejection of legislation in Scotland and Wales had already "surprised and shocked" suicide proponents.

"We currently have the most godless Parliament in our history, judging by how few MPs swore their oath on the Bible," the Christian Concern head told OSV News.

"Yet there's still a lingering recognition of the Christian foundations of our culture and morality. It you meet someone contemplating suicide, the humane response is to talk them out of it, not encourage them."