Engaging with the Assisted Dying debates faithfully, prayerfully and compassionately
November 21, 2024 8:54 am
“Death is the final taboo”; isn’t that what they say? Well, perhaps not so much at the moment. A new bill asking MPs to consider legalising assisted dying is coming before parliament for a debate on the 29th November. Despite being a private members bill (a bill that is not proposed by the government, but by a backbench MP) the “The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill” has provoked much debate in the headlines and on topical conversation media. This is, however, not a new debate. It was last addressed in the House of Commons in 2015, but has also been debated in the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the House of Lords in recent years, as well as in the Jersey and Isle of Man legislatures. Each time similar arguments have surfaced. Arguments around individual liberty and choice have always been front and centre as deeply moving stories of suffering, grief and fear were shared. Counter arguments about societal consequences, slippery slopes, inadequate palliative care, anxiety about coercion and economic factors also enter the fray, often causing deep hesitancy towards a change in the law. Voices of faith leaders have also frequently entered the fray. Christians in particular have spoken about the sanctity of life, about God’s presence in the face of suffering, and about the biblical directive to protect the vulnerable. It’s less common, although not unheard of, for Christians to support proposed changes in law. In 2015 George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, said that while life is sacred, there is ‘nothing sacred about suffering in itself’ – and no one should be ‘obliged to endure it’. As a former local minister, I’ve spent days (and on occasion nights) sitting by the beds of those coming to the end of their lives. I think it’s fair to say that each experience has been unique. I’ve witnessed profound peace, confusion, despair, acceptance, pain and fear. Mercifully I’ve never witnessed anyone begging to be able to end it all – although I know other ministers that have – I have, however, prayed with people who have asked God to “take me soon”. A number of years ago, while I was still training for ministry, I remember visiting a lady called “Margaret” who had been in hospital for several months before being moved into a hospice where she was expected to die, but this too had lasted far longer than anyone had expected. She had no relatives that lived in the country, and the few friends she still had were too frail to visit. I saw her a handful times over this period, but by the end it was clear to me she was physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, she had had enough, and said she wanted God to “take me now”. I honestly can’t say whether she would have considered ending her own life if it could have been done legally and peacefully – I suspect she would not have – but you would have had to be a fairly cold-hearted person not to have had some level of understanding, if that had been her will. I’m just grateful it was not a conversation I was, or realistically could have been invited into – I simply prayed for peace to come, and for Margaret’s suffering to end. She died a few days later. I was reminded of Margaret when I read the reflections of a palliative care doctor who wrote about of a patient of hers that had cancer, and who was facing a similarly drawn-out death, but that had expressed a regret that she lived in a country where she could not end her own suffering. The doctor spoke of how it seemed to her then, as it does now, that her patient was suffering “a staggeringly futile form of endurance, a cruel distortion of what life should be”.[1] Yet despite having tremendous sympathy in this case, her observations about the shortcomings of palliative care in the UK more generally left her deeply concerned about any changes in the law at the moment. This is just one person, for whom the argument surrounding defective NHS systems and inconsistent practices in palliative care are paramount. For her, offering someone a choice between taking their own life, or risking inadequate end of life care, is no choice at all. For other people, different arguments help sway their position – I wonder what arguments speak most powerfully to you? The truth is many Churches are unmoved from their historical position of opposing assisted dying. For some, I’m certain it’s because they have given time to consider all the multifaceted arguments, but don’t feel their previous misgivings have been, or even could be, changed. But I wonder if for some, it is in part because we have just not thought about it for many years. I’m not suggesting for a moment that I believe these Churches should be changing their minds on assisted dying, as having researched this quite thoroughly over the last few months, I am yet to be persuaded that legalising assisted dying might ever be right, but I do worry our voices on the subject will start to lose integrity if we don’t continue to listen and engage with the conversation about assisted dying faithfully, prayerfully and compassionately. All the denominations that make up the Joint Public Issues Team have encouraged individuals and churches to consider the issue of assisted dying afresh, and would welcome feedback on your prayerful reflections. Careful listening to all sides of any debate (perhaps especially to those with whom we disagree) is becoming an increasingly rare practice in today’s often polarised culture – but it is a vital exercise that shapes our thinking, strengthens our arguments and builds greater understanding towards those with whom we might not ordinarily relate. Of course, we should also consider the possibility that God might just speak to us through unexpected sources; indeed, in my experience, this is more common that we might like to admit. In […]
