THE Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, have met the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater to debate her Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying, which each bishops oppose.
The meeting at Lambeth Palace on Monday was described by Ms Leadbeater as “good and positive” in a press release on Thursday. Beyond confirming that the meeting, described as private, took place at Lambeth Palace, Archbishop Welby’s office has made no comment.
Ms Leadbeater said that she had also met a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, and Rabbi Jonathan Romain, at her office in Parliament. Both are vocal of their support of assisted dying.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow life-ending medical help for terminally ailing adults with not more than six months to live, in England and Wales (Leader comment and Press, 11 October). The Bill is as a result of be debated on 29 November, and MPs can be given a free vote.
It had its First Reading earlier this month. Archbishop Welby, alongside the Archbishop of York and other serving bishops, has made his opposition clear, saying that the Bill would risk causing “hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people” to feel that that they had a “duty” to finish their lives (News, 18 October).
After the meeting with Ms Leadbeater, Bishop Mullally issued a letter on behalf of the Lords’ Spiritual, setting out the position of the Church of England. The General Synod, she identified, has voted twice, with a big majority, against the legalisation of assisted suicide: in 2012 (News, 10 February 2012), and again in 2022 (News, 1 July 2022).
“This opposition has all the time been grounded in a priority for the welfare of probably the most vulnerable: in biblical terms the widow, the orphan and the stranger,” Bishop Mullally wrote. “However, it will not be the case that there’s a ‘religious view’ and a ‘secular view’ on these issues. People of religion and people ascribing to quite a lot of philosophies of life hold a big selection of differing views on these deeply complex matters.”
She also acknowledged: “I realise that for deeply personal reasons in addition to theological convictions we may stand in other places on this debate.”
This point was welcomed by Ms Leadbeater in her statement on Thursday.
But Bishop Mullally went on to warn of the “unintended consequences” of the Bill. “Giving alternative to some will take alternative away from others, especially probably the most vulnerable in our society: the elderly, those living in poverty, those that are in danger because they’re disabled, and people in coercive relationships. It will widen the prevailing health inequalities that are such a scar on our national life.”
And she agreed with Archbishop’s Welby’s argument that “One person’s understanding of quality of life will not be all the time any individual else’s. The change in laws will risk an increasing number of individuals seeing themselves as a burden, despite wanting to live.”
Ms Leadbeater concluded her statement: “It is amazingly vital to me to take heed to the big selection of views on this most serious of subjects, including those of non secular leaders and faith communities. I do know there are strongly held views and opinions, and, whilst I’m clear that the law needs to alter, I remain determined to play my part in facilitating a strong, respectful and compassionate debate.”
If passed, her Bill would, she said, “quite rightly” be subject to scrutiny by a committee of MPs, and in further debate within the House of Commons, before going to the House of Lords for consideration.
