It will be a mistake, with extremely long lasting consequences stretching into eternity, if the Assisted Dying Bill becomes law, writes Mark Gannon from Birmingham CDSC, who encourages us, assisted by prayer, to write to our MPs and urge them to vote against the Bill.
The Assisted Dying Bill, which is currently undergoing scutiny by the Public Bill Committee, came through its second reading last November. There are serious concerns about the practical implications of the Bill-not only for the few people for whom this Bill is being framed, but also for the rest of society.
Experience around the world, in jurisdictions where assisted dying, assisted suicide and euthanasia is legal, has demonstrated that it comes to be used not just in the last terminal stages of unmanageable illness, but also across a wide range of remediable conditions- including depression, anorexia and diabetes.
It has been found to impact disproportionately on the lives of the poor and the chronically disabled and is fuelled by a sense that individual lives become a burden on families and on society. Assisted dying now accounts for 1 death in 20 in Canada- a magnitude which puts it alongside lung cancer or stroke as a cause of death.
Inadequacy of safeguards
The committee stage of the Bill has come in for criticism, as it has accepted none of the 80 proposed amendments put before it and there are concerns about partiality in selecting the expert evidence it invites. Recently there has been significant undermining of the safeguards which had been in the bill at its second reading through the role of the High Court. This independent scrutiny, which was so important in providing reassurance to many MPs who supported the second reading, has been significantly diluted.
The care with which the initial legislation is crafted has been found to be inadequate in other jurisdictions. Incremental challenge encroaches on the original intentions once the principal has been established that, in some cases, it is acceptable to will the end of a human life. Parliament will write the legislation, although it will be the courts who will decide how it is applied-and it will be there that the dilemma of balancing individual human rights with the benefits of the common good will be fought out.
For many people, it would be untenable to concede the principle that it is acceptable to will the end of a human life, based on ethical and moral principles, and the Christian worldview goes even further. Christians have a foundational belief which goes beyond the understanding of a person as a body and a mind with a finite presence in the material world.
Precious in God's Sight: A Christian Understanding of Human Life
The Christian understanding is that we are body and soul. We have a spirit, and we existed in the mind of God long before we came to physical life, and our souls continue to exist long after our physical deaths. This life in eternity is impacted by how we live our lives on this earth, and we are called to be hopeful, and not to fall into despair.
It will be a mistake, with extremely long lasting consequences stretching into eternity, if we legislate in favour of this hopelessness. Strident autonomy and the pre-eminence of the individual have marched into society's worldview, alongside a blindspot for the nature of a person and their eternal destiny.
All of these considerations provide us with good reason to resist the coming of the Assisted Dying Bill in England and Wales. Every member of Parliament in the land can be made aware of the extent of the opposition to this Bill and the culture which it promotes. Please write to your MPs, and encourage your family and friends all over the country to do the same. Assistance is available in constructing your correspondence with your MP from the Right to Life website here
It will not be a good thing if we, without protest, allow this bill to be established in our name. Let's be people of action, fuelled by prayer and the Holy Spirit.
It isn't over yet.
Picture: Andy Drozdziak
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