UK bishops urge Catholics to contact legislators ahead of assisted suicide vote

London, England, Oct 11, 2024 / 12:10 pm

Clergy and parishioners of dioceses across the United Kingdom are hearing from their bishops in advance of a vote next month to legalize assisted suicide. 

A pastoral letter authored by Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury will be delivered across the diocese, making him the latest prelate to express alarm at the prospect of assisted suicide becoming available in England and Wales.

Although the threat of such legislation has always been present in Westminster, specific parliamentary time has now been allocated to the latest bill, which is expected to be debated and voted upon by members of Parliament on Nov. 29. If the bill is ratified, it is anticipated that it will be given enough parliamentary time to become law.

The “Choice at the End of Life Bill” is sponsored by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour member of Parliament for Spen Valley, West Yorkshire, and will receive a nominal first reading in the House of Commons on Oct. 16 before its second reading on Nov. 29.

The new Labour prime minister, Keir Starmer, has expressed his support for a change in the law, but Davies warned in his letter that the current age is an “especially dangerous” one in which to legalize assisted suicide.

“As we see populations aging across Western countries with a diminished number of younger people to support them, this is an especially dangerous moment for politicians to open the door to euthanasia: the medical killing of the sick, the disabled, and the elderly. We already hear of a social duty to end our lives when we become a burden to others. This is not the kind of society in which we would wish to grow old or become vulnerable,” Davies wrote.

He continued: “If medical professionals, now sworn to protect the lives of patients, become those who assist in killing and suicide, how will our relationship change to those we look to for help and care? This is, indeed, a dark and sinister path on which we could be embarking before Christmas 2024.”

The bishop’s letter ends with a plea to Catholics to contact their representatives and ask them to reject proposals to change the current law, which currently prohibits assisted suicide and makes it punishable for up to 14 years in jail.

The leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, has made his own intervention regarding the controversial legislation.

In a pastoral letter dated for this weekend, Nichols writes: “As this debate unfolds, then, I ask you to play your part in it. Write to your MP. Have discussions with family, friends, and colleagues. And pray. Please remember: Be careful what you wish for; the right to die can become a duty to die; being forgetful of God belittles our humanity.”

Back in September, Bishop John Sherrington, who represents the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on life issues, warned that the debate on assisted suicide would likely be renewed and urged Catholics to unite in prayer.

In a statement released on Sept. 6, Sherrington said: “The Catholic Church accompanies those suffering and nearing the end of their lives with hope and affection but also reminds them that their life is precious until the very last breath.”

“This is the work that hospices and other health care institutions and hundreds of thousands of individual carers undertake every day, helping the terminally ill and dying to leave this world whilst preserving their dignity. They truly provide assistance to those who are dying.”

When members of Parliament vote on Nov. 29, it will be the first time they have voted on similar legislation since 2015, when assisted suicide was defeated by 330 votes to 118.