THE early publication of a Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying is not going to facilitate the depth of debate needed on a society-shifting issue, bishops have warned.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, from the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, is to be debated on 29 November. MPs can be given a free vote. The Bill seeks to permit life-ending medical help for terminally in poor health adults with not more than six months to live, in England and Wales (News, 16 October, 25 October; Leader comment and Press, 11 October).
On Monday, a draft of the Bill was published. It states that a terminally in poor health adult “may, on request, be supplied with assistance to finish their very own life”. The person should be over-18 on the time of request, be a resident of and registered with a GP practice in England and Wales.
The person will need to have expressed a “clear, settled and informed wish to finish their very own life . . . voluntarily and has not been coerced or pressured by every other person”, it says.
Definitions of “terminal illness” and “capability” are given.
On the part played by medical practitioners, the Bill states that none are under any obligation to lift the potential for assisted dying, but nor are they prevented from doing so. If it’s raised by the patient, and the medical practitioner declines to debate it, the practitioner must refer the patient on to a different practitioner. This person is called because the “coordinating” doctor.
A declaration of intent should be signed and dated by the patient and proof of identity provided. A second assessment should be made by a physician independent of the case, including whether the patient is terminally in poor health and has the capability to finish their very own life. The Bill states that the “training, qualifications and experience” of this person is to be specified by the Secretary of State.
If the declaration has not been cancelled by the patient on this time, this and statements from the coordinating and independent doctors should be presented in an application to the High Court, which “may hear and query” these individuals and their statements.
A second declaration must then be made to the Court of Appeal. The time before and between these periods – 14 days – is taken into account to be “a period of reflection” for the person wishing to finish their very own life. This person may cancel their first or second declarations at any time through communication with any medical practitioner inside their registered GP surgery.
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, who leads on healthcare, said in an announcement on Tuesday that MPs were being given “a really short time frame to contemplate probably the most complex and emotive of all issues. Ultimately, they can be asked to make a fundamental decision that can affect so many lives, off the back of just five hours of debate. Should assisted suicide be introduced, there could be unintended and serious consequences for the entire of society, especially for individuals who are at probably the most vulnerable point of their lives, and for individuals who love and take care of them.”
She continued: “We are seeing growing concern concerning the potential impact of this Bill from a wide selection of groups including palliative care doctors, disabled people, feminist and legal commentators.”
The Church, she concluded, supported calls from the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, to adequately fund and resource palliative care services, and “specifically we strongly back motion to be sure that our hospices receive the extent of state funding that they’re so badly lacking at present.”
The Vicar of St Luke’s, Uxbridge Road, the Revd Richard Bastable, post on social media: “Whilst I’m please [sic] that the bill can be published early to permit scrutiny, surely having to make an exception to the standard expectations reveals that a PMB isn’t the suitable technique to consider laws of such great significance and — dare I say — danger and risk.”
The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, retweeted, saying: “Quite. To do that is to confess the inadequacy of the method. The text of the bill will hardly facilitate the depth of debate needed.”
In an announcement on Monday, the parliamentary group Christians on the Left agreed that “policymakers have a responsibility to think through this issue rigorously, considering the moral values at play and the possible consequences of change. . . As Christian Socialists — we consider that human beings are made within the image of God. There is a price in all human life, nonetheless young or old, healthy or terminally in poor health.
“This doesn’t mean it ought to be prolonged beyond its natural end, but medicine normally understands this.”
Legalising assisted dying, the statement says, “isn’t similar to a call to alleviate pain with a possible consequence of shortening the patient’s life. We consider that this legal change will mark a wider shift in the best way our society regards human life. . . It can also be naive to consider that folks facing the top of life can be given a real selection about what to do” due to under-funded and under-resourced hospice care.”
The group gives the instance of evidence given to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry that, through the pandemic, “some elderly and disabled people found ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ instructions were issued arbitrarily.”
Territorial Leaders of The Salvation Army within the UK and Ireland, Commissioners Paul and Jenine Main have written a letter to Salvation Army officers, Salvationists, Salvation Army leaders and members about their campaign to lobby against the bill.
The letter states: “Legalising assisted suicide, nonetheless well-intentioned, could place unintended pressures in moments of vulnerability. Called to reflect the love of Jesus Christ, we seek to alleviate pain and offer compassionate support. We journey alongside people that suffer and uphold their inherent, God-given sanctity at every stage and experience of life.”
The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has already expressed his opposition to assisted dying. On Tuesday, the Archbishop of Southwark, the Most Revd John Wilson, released a video message on social media urging MPs to oppose the Bill, to “care for individuals who are suffering, to not bring about their death”.
The threat, he said, was “not only physical but moral and spiritual too. We are duty sure to get up and challenge this attack on human dignity on all fronts.” He concluded: “Who are we to say a life isn’t price living or that somebody is healthier off dead because society values their contribution lower than another person?”
Other church leaders, including the previous Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey have supported the Bill (News, 1 November).
