The Bishop of Nottingham has warned that the proposal to legalise assisted suicide would undermine the foundation of the legal order in Britain if it becomes law and could also lead to “a gradual decline in funding for palliative care”.
He highlights that this is a particularly "sad reflection" on the nation that founded the modern hospice movement. Bishop Patrick McKinney read his pastoral letter on the issue on 27 October in St. Mary’s Church in the Leicestershire town of Wigston.
“This Bill has the potential to initiate a paradigm shift in how we understand, value and protect the sacredness of every human life, and so to profoundly affect the very fabric of our society,” the bishop said. “Laws to legalise assisted suicide strike at the foundation of the legal order; the right to life sustains all other rights, including the exercise of freedom.
