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The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has responded to the sudden and controversial closure of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, citing "the serious economic impact of the Covid pandemic" as the prime reason for the funding crisis behind the closure.
It follows the announcement in July that the centre, considered not just the premier Christian bioethics institute in Britain but one of the finest in the world, would close by the end of the month.
In addition to causing shock, the announcement has been accompanied by reactions of consternation that have criticised the closure happening at such a critical moment for ethical issues and law in Great Britain, with legislation advancing in the UK Parliament to permit assisted suicide and to legalise abortion up to birth.
“In recent years, particularly in light of the serious economic impact of the Covid pandemic, the three Bishops’ Conferences that had historically supported the Anscombe Bioethics Centre – England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland – struggled to find the required long-term funding for its ongoing work,” says a statement from the Governing Body of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre for the Trustees of the Catholic Trust for England and Wales.
“A wide range of national and international options to secure the centre’s continuation, including university partnerships and professional fundraising support, were explored. Unfortunately, the various approaches proved unable to secure the centre’s future.
“As such, in line with employment law, a period of consultation was undertaken regarding the ongoing staffing of the centre. That period of consultation ended on 31 July 2025. The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, in its current form as a staffed concern, will now close.
“A process of discernment follows to consider how best to safeguard the centre’s acclaimed body of research and rich repository of digital resources. In terms of the latter, this will be to ensure these resources are available to the Catholic community, and wider society, in perpetuity."
The governing body goes on to say: “We are grateful for the work that the centre has carried out since its founding in1977, work which has had a hugely positive impact on the field of bioethics and its wider societal reception.
"We are grateful to the current staff under the directorship of Prof David Albert Jones, and to all those who have served the Centre since its inception at the impetus of the late Prof. Luke Gormally.”
The Bishop Governors of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre have said: “On behalf of theBishops of England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, we wish to further express gratitude for the internationally renowned work of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre and for all those who have served its mission over the past 48 years.
“The Bishops will continue passionately to defend the intrinsic dignity of human life from conception to natural death, and, where appropriate, will consult with leading Catholic bioethicists on matters of shared concern.”
Before its closure, the Anscombe Bioethics Centre had been heavily involved in campaigning against the assisted suicide Bill that recently passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons, along with other issues impacting the country.
Much of the focus of the centre's work over the past year has been the attempt in Scotland and in England and Wales to decriminalise "encouraging and assisting suicide" in the case of people deemed to have a "terminal" illness.
“Our work has been cited in Parliament and we have helped inform many people who are concerned about this issue,” Prof David Albert Jones has stated.
“Assisted suicide Bills continue to make progress both in Scotland and in England and Wales, albeit by narrow majorities.
“While the centre will no longer be in a position to provide new resources, we urge people to make use of the resources we have already made available and to engage with the Scottish Parliament and with the House of Lords as these bodies continue to debate dangerous and ill-thought-out legislation.”
RELATED: Britain's leading Catholic bioethics centre forced to close
Photo: Britain's then Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street in central London to give an update on the Covid-19 pandemic, 15 February 2021. (Photo by STEFAN ROUSSEAU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images.)
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