The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has called the new Private Members’ Bill seeking to legalise assisted suicide “divisive and flawed”.
Archbishop John Sherrington of Liverpool, lead bishop for life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, said in July 21 statement that the bill was “wrong in principle” and “likely to lead to pressure on the most vulnerable to end their lives through assisted suicide”.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Lauren Edwards, MP for Rochester and Strood, would legalise assisted suicide for people over the age of 18 who are expected to die within six months.
Archbishop Sherrington said: “The safeguards against coercion, pressure and abuse are wholly inadequate.”
“Moreover, the bill fails to provide sufficient protection for freedom of conscience for doctors. In addition, health and social care staff could find themselves under pressure to participate in assisted suicide.”
The Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is expected to take place in the House of Commons on September 11. Archbishop Sherrington described the situation “urgent” and called on people to contact their local Member of Parliament to ask them to vote against the bill.
The Archbishop said: “Rather than improving care for those approaching the end of life, this legislation risks weakening already overstretched palliative care services. Hospices and care homes may be required to facilitate assisted suicide on their premises. This could force some of them to close.
“We need good hospice care and accompaniment at the end of life as we prepare for eternal life. Christ calls us to protect and accompany people to a natural death, caring and alleviating their suffering along the way. This bill is not the merciful solution supporters claim it to be.
The bill was introduced following the defeat of MP Kim Leadbeater’s bill in the House of Lords in April. Under the Parliament Act, the passing of an identical bill in two consecutive parliamentary sessions would prevent peers from once more blocking the proposed legislation again.
Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive of Right To Life UK, said the move was a “clear” attempt to bypass the House of Lords to “force it into law”.
He said: “Lauren Edwards has chosen to bring back a Bill that is near-identical in form to Kim Leadbeater’s deeply flawed and unsafe Bill from the previous parliamentary session.
“The Bill retains dozens of serious flaws identified by Royal Colleges, professional bodies, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and disability, mental health and domestic abuse charities”.
Hungerford-Morgan criticised the publication of the bill on the day MPs left for the summer recess, giving them only nine sitting days to consider the bill before the Second Reading debate.
“Using the Parliament Acts to force through a controversial Private Members’ Bill that was not in the Government’s election manifesto would be unprecedented and unacceptable. It is striking that a number of MPs who previously supported the assisted suicide Bill have already recognised this, and it is highly likely they are not alone,” he said.
