Catholic leaders raise concerns over assisted dying vote

Catholic leaders and pro-life campaigners have expressed growing concerns following renewed debate in Westminster and the Scottish Parliament over the legalisation of assisted dying.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, sponsored by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, reached its report stage on 16 May where MPs voted against an amendment to protect hospices from having to provide assisted suicide on their premises.

Professor David Albert Jones, Director of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, said: “In the Leadbeater Bill, providing assistance in suicide is now termed ‘Voluntary Assisted Dying’, but this vote means that the practice might not be ‘voluntary’ for Catholic organisations.

“Hospices could be compelled to provide assistance in suicide or forced to close. This Bill not only threatens the right to life of vulnerable patients, it threatens freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.”

Raymond Friel, Chief Executive of Caritas Social Action Network, warned that the legislation undermines the foundations of compassionate care: “When death is framed as a solution, we lose sight of our duty to accompany the suffering with dignity and love”.

During the report stage debate, Dame Esther Rantzen – who has stage four breast cancer – said that many who “oppose this crucial reform” have “undeclared personal religious beliefs which mean no precautions would satisfy them”.

Michael Robinson, Executive Director of SPUC, called Rantzen’s comments “lazy and offensive” to the “broad coalition against this legislation, from doctors and nurses, and disability rights groups to those of faith.”

Prior to the debate in Westminster, MSP’s voted 70 to 56 in favour of Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur’s proposed Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill at Stage One, with one abstention.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, said: “In an ideal world, MSPs would have rejected this dangerous and ideological bill today, however we are greatly encouraged by the closeness of the vote, which no one predicted when the legislative process started over 12 months ago.

“The simple explanation is the more MSPs hear what legalising assisted dying would mean – rewriting the NHS charter, fundamentally changing the nature of health care in Scotland and how it would put pressure on the terminally ill, vulnerable and disabled people to end their lives prematurely – the less inclined they are to back it.”

Michael Robinson echoed these sentiments in regard to Westminster: “The more MPs and the public hear about what this bill entails, while seeing important safeguards such as independent judicial oversight of each application removed, the more support falls away.”

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