Concern as Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill is introduced in Parliament
A bill which would enable terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to live to get medical help to end their own lives has been introduced in the House of Lords, by former Labour Justice Secretary Lord Falconer.
He told the BBC his ‘Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill’ would apply only to people “mentally able to make the decision”.
Their choice would also need to be approved by two doctors and the high court.
Private members’ bills introduced in the Lords rarely become law. However, Lord Falconer says he hopes a backbench MP will introduce a similar bill in the Commons, where it will have a greater chance of entering into UK law.
Responding to the announcement the Anscombe Bioethics Centre said: “The advocates of assisted suicide are once again bringing the debate back to Parliament.
“Their attempts have failed many times in the past. Yet the Anscombe Bioethics Centre urges those in favour or undecided to reconsider the issue, in light of the devastating consequences in jurisdictions that have already legalised it.
As Prof. David Albert Jones points out in a new article, legalising assisted suicide poses a threat to the most vulnerable in our society.
He writes: ‘Legalising assisted suicide would place an extra burden on sick and disabled people by forcing them to ask if they are a burden to others. In Oregon, the number seeking death in part because they feel a burden to others has increased significantly over time (up to 54.2% in 2021). In Canada in 2022, 4,625 people (35.3%) had their lives ended because they felt they were a burden to others.’
Evidence from Oregon also shows that even if it were restricted to terminal illnesses only, there is a high probability of going down a dangerously slippery slope. In Oregon the eligibility criteria has been effectively expanded to include those suffering from chronic (but not terminal) illnesses.
Liam McArthur MSP has also proposed legalising assisted suicide in Scotland. The Health, Sport and Social Care Committee of the Scottish Parliament has called for evidence on his ‘Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill’.
As Prof. Jones writes, ‘The Anscombe Bioethics Centre is encouraging responses to the Health, Sport and Social Care Committee from anyone with concerns about the Bill.’
“Legalisation of assisted suicide is neither inevitable, nor a sign of progress. Suicide should be prevented where possible, not aided and abetted, said Prof. Jones.
“We should support those who feel they are a burden to others, not help them to kill themselves. All those concerned for the protection of the most vulnerable in our society must make their voices heard.”
The Anscombe Bioethics Centre is an Oxford-based research institute serving the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Established in 1977, the Centre promotes the study of Catholic bioethics in service of the common good.
- The Anscombe Bioethics Centre is publishing a series of briefing papers on EAS, clarifying the issues at stake in the social, political, and medical discussion, examining the definitions concerning and practical consequences of legalising physician involvement in assisting a patient to end their own life, or directly causing their death. You can read the full briefing paper series on its dedicated page on their website, here.
- For more information on the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, see: www.bioethics.org.uk