One of the most bizarre of the many bizarre parts of the past year and a half has been the political and media urge to mourn the deaths of those in nursing home settings, while simultaneously attempting to legislate for assisted dying and euthanasia.
This has occurred in Ireland, Australia and now also in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is especially prescient on this issue because a legalisation of euthanasia there would inevitably lead to the same in Ireland, as was the case with abortion (even if it took decades).
The official bill can be read here.
We will have a more detailed analysis of it in time, but in essence, it revels in the usual euphemisms of the culture of death, such as stating that it pertains to an ‘inevitably progressive condition’ which ‘is reasonably expected to die within six months’. The NHS have proven that they simply do not take such things seriously, as one can see by abortion levels being at record numbers in the United Kingdom, despite the law technically saying that Grounds C (which is the reason for 98% of abortions) must be when ‘the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated’. There are still many who insult our intelligence and tell us that these abortions are all necessary. There is no doubt that the ‘reasonably expected to die within six months’ would be equally abused by both the NHS and private euthanasia/assisted suicide providers as is the case with abortion.
The Catholic Bishops in Ireland were very vocal in opposing euthanasia in Ireland, which has been defeated for the time being thanks to the incompetence of the far left’s botched bill, now their colleagues in England and Wales have joined them.
One of their most practical suggestions is to write to politicians on the bill. The link is at the bottom of the statement.
Please continue to pray for the United Kingdom and also for Ireland, which will no doubt be impacted by the ramifications of any such potential legalisation.
Such legislation arrives at a time when we have a growing elderly population, persistent exclusion and inequality for disabled people and a very real health and social care crisis. Experience during the pandemic is also pertinent, especially the number of care home deaths and the use or ‘misuse’ of ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ notices for elderly and disabled people. This context coupled with the textual vagueness of the Bill raises a number of serious questions about law and society’s ability to protect the most vulnerable. When does a right to die become a duty to die? How can we be sure that a person is free from pressure from ending their life prematurely due to societal attitudes and perceptions about a person’s ‘quality’ or ‘worth’ of life? How we be sure a person is acting voluntarily and not out of a sense of ‘being a burden’ to family, friends, health and social care services and to society?
Oregon, Belgium, Canada and other jurisdictions are held up as examples as to why the UK should follow suit in legalising assisted suicide. Yet, evidence in these countries overwhelmingly indicates that the introduction laws for a ‘small number of cases’ inevitably leads to exponential growth in those seeking ‘assisted dying’:
Oregon has seen a 1075% increase in ‘assisted deaths’ between 1998-2019
Belgium has seen a 925% increase between 2002-2019
Canada has seen a 648% increase between 2016-2020.
Similarly, an expansion of grounds upon which ‘assisted suicide’ is permitted follows suit with its legislation. Laws have been expanded in some jurisdictions to include assisted suicide for children, non-terminal illness and non-terminal psychiatric illness. Laws are also being challenged with regards to allowing the elderly to request assisted suicide when their life is ‘complete’ or if they have dementia. Can we expect the situation in England to be any different?
Faced with suffering and illness our response should be one of compassion. This finds authentic expression in high-quality and holistic end of life care for the one who is dying and their family. Rather than assisting suicide and bringing care and life to an end, we should be working to ensure people have access to the very best of end-of-life care when they need it. Organisations such as ‘The Art of Dying Well’ and medical professionals have done good work in debunking myths and popular perceptions around end-of-life care and what a ‘a good death’ can and does look like, but there is much more to be done here. Work too needs to be done in making the provision of quality palliative care a priority and a reality for all who have need of it. ‘Assisted Dying’ could be seen as a quick and cheap alternative to proper end-of-life care. Can we expect a full range of choice to be given to us, in the event of terminal illness should this Bill make the statute books?
It is also interesting to note that those working closest with people at the end of their lives, are often those most opposed to assisted suicide within the medical profession.
The Catholic Church, consistent with the nature of its mission, is clear that ‘we cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it.’ For the terminally ill patient, ‘incurable cannot mean that care has come to an end’ and yet, this Bill proposes just that. Although this proposed legislation is framed as a compassionate response to those in the last stages of their life, such compassion must be denounced as ‘false compassion’ as Pope Francis reminds us. A “true compassion” he says, is “the just response to the immense value of the sick person.” It finds expression in treating the dying person with love, with dignity and by making use of appropriate palliative care. Life is a gift to be valued and cherished until its last breath, through natural death, which opens into the promise of eternal life.
The Catholic Church remains opposed to any form of assisted suicide and we will scrutinise and continue to challenge this proposed legislation in the months ahead. We reaffirm our support for high quality end-of-life care, which includes spiritual and pastoral support for the one who is dying and their family.
The Bill is likely to have its second reading debate in the House of Lords on the 16 October 2021. If approved, it will proceed to a Committee stage on a later date where it can be scrutinised and amended line by line.
Pray
As this Bill makes its way through Parliament, we encourage you to pray that it is defeated and to also pray for a culture where high quality end-of-life care flourishes.
Write
Please consider writing to Members of the House of Lords or Commons and asking them to oppose this Bill. Whilst there are good rational arguments for defeating this legislation, this is a battle for hearts and minds and so don’t be afraid to share your own experiences of ‘dying well’ and ‘end of life care’ if you have them through your work or personal life. Guidance on how to do this can be found on Parliament’s website: parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/
He said that he ‘admired’ Pope Benedict XVI.