CARE urges MPs to oppose assisted suicide

Legalising assisted suicide would fundamentally alter the value our society ascribes to human life, CARE's CEO has warned, as MPs prepare to debate a Bill to legalise the practice.

On Friday, MPs will debate and vote on Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would enable doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients who they believe to be terminally ill.

The Health Secretary, the Justice Secretary, and the government's suicide prevention adviser are among a chorus of critics warning against the legislation.

Speaking ahead of the debate, CARE's CEO Ross Hendry said:

“Parliament is about to debate a profoundly important topic. I trust that we will see compassion, empathy, grace, understanding, and insight on all sides of this debate, and that MPs will understand the profound implications of their vote. We are urging MPs to reject assisted suicide because it is morally wrong and practically dangerous.

"This practice fundamentally alters the value societies ascribe to human life. Assisted suicide creates a two-tier society where some lives are seen as not worth living and afforded less protection. Rather than stepping into the business of ending life, the government should seek to bolster existing, life-affirming support for dying people.

"The evidence of how ‘assisted dying’ laws work in other countries should be troubling to all of us, whatever our principled position on this matter. Assisted deaths are often not the painless and peaceful deaths campaigners present them as. They are medically dangerous and known to cause trauma to patients, their loved ones, and doctors.

"It’s also clear that ‘safeguards’ don’t work. No number of safeguards can remove the threat of patient coercion. Citizens choosing assisted suicide would do so because they feel like a burden or lack support. Deaths under a UK law would be driven by citizens’ experiences of poverty, healthcare inequality, social isolation, and other factors.

"At present, our society seeks to prevent every suicide and offer compassionate, life-affirming support to people who are struggling. We believe this is the right approach, and the one that best guarantees the protection of vulnerable groups. We’d ask parliamentarians to uphold it now, and in the years ahead.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) provides social policy analysis from a Christian perspective.

To request an interview, contact: press@care.org.uk