A Catholic bishop in England is warning that the legalisation of assisted suicide “undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life”. Source: Crux.
Britain’s Parliament returns this week, and the “Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill” – which seeks to legalise assisted suicide – will be discussed in the House of Lords.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal under English, Welsh, and Northern Irish law and is considered manslaughter or murder. In Scotland, there is no specific legislation on the particular issue, but people can be prosecuted for murder if they are involved.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer became Prime Minister after the July 4 election, and he said late last year there here are “grounds for changing the law” on assisted dying.
The last attempt to legalise assisted suicide in the UK was defeated in Parliament in 2015, but Mr Starmer had backed the bill.
The sponsor of the newest bill, Lord Charlie Falconer, said the proposed law is not about people who are suffering from any sort of condition that is not going to end their life within the next six months.
“We have to do something about the law because if you want to take your own life because you are terminally ill, you’ve either got to do it yourself without any help, or you’ve got to go to Switzerland and do it earlier than you might otherwise have to, in alien surroundings maybe without those that you love,” he said.
Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, is encouraging Catholics to unite in prayer and compassionate action as Parliament prepares to renew the debate around assisted suicide.
“I wish to reaffirm that the Catholic Church has always been opposed to assisted suicide in every circumstance. The legalisation of assisted suicide undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life. There is also now ample evidence across the world that the legalisation of assisted suicide puts the most vulnerable members of society at risk,” he said.
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British bishop urges respect for life as Parliament prepares to debate assisted suicide (By Charles Collins, Crux)
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