Christian rights groups in the U.K. have reacted with great concern after lawmakers passed the first round of new legislation introducing assisted dying for the time ever in England and Wales. The bill’s official title in the House of Commons in London proposed allowing “adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life.”
The private member’s bill introduced by MP Kim Leadbeater passed its second reading with 330 MPS in favor and 275 against the motion in a free vote to introduce assisted dying for terminally ill adults with a life span of no more than six months, seeking help to end their own lives.
The legislation will next be reviewed by MPs at committee stage and needs approval of the House of Lords to become law.
In a news update, entitled “A day of darkness and expectation,” Susan Marriott, a former general practitioner, now head of public policy for the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) based in London, spoke of her deep sadness once the vote result was known.
Many members of CMF and supporters had met each evening in the run-up to the vote, she said, to pray “that the Lord would prevent this outcome.” They wrote to MPs, visited MPs, and spoke up publicly to show the “bill is deeply dangerous, including for the most vulnerable.”
“This is not the outcome we hoped for, the evidence and the arguments show us the dangers of this path, and this is not a path that our God, who asks us to love our neighbours, to value every human life, and to offer hope and help to those in despair, wants us to walk down,” wrote Marriott.
However, Marriott encouraged those feeling crushed by the planned law to reflect on the hard work of those speaking up for the vulnerable in recent weeks. She referenced Galatians 6, when Paul called believers to “not become weary in doing good.”
“With the help of the Spirit, many have taken the gifts, influence, and opportunities that God has given them and been unwearied in using them to do good by speaking up for what is true, good, and beautiful.
“Alongside many colleagues of all faiths and none we have spoken up for wholistic [sic] palliative, psychological, and social care and against the legalisation of a choice for some that would be a burden to so many.”
Marriott called upon those concerned to keep up the pressure in “doing good.” She interpreted this as pushing for an increase in funding and support for palliative care, which was recognised by the UK lawmakers in the House of Commons debate as being in need of improvement: “it is imperative that we hold parliamentarians to those intentions.”
The head of public policy also reiterated that the specific concerns about the bill must continue to be vocalised as it is reviewed at committee stage.
Lastly, Marriott reminded supporters of the CMF to keep praying about the issue.
“It is perhaps apt that this vote has happened on the cusp of the Advent season when we remember that we are in a time of both darkness and of expectation,” she wrote.
“Before the first Advent (or coming) of Christ, it would have been easy for the people of God to lose hope, and yet the faithful people of God waited in expectation, knowing that God is always one to keep his promises, to bring salvation and to provide light in the darkness.
“God has not changed; he cannot. Let us cry to him for mercy and that this Bill might still be stopped. Let us look to him for hope, even on this ostensibly dark day.”
In another published reaction, Ross Hendry, chief executive officer (CEO) of Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) in the UK, called the vote “deeply troubling.” He expressed particular upset about the effect on vulnerable and marginalized people in England and Wales fearing the change in law.
“Legalising assisted suicide would diminish the value we ascribe to human life in our legislation and our institutions and create a two-tier society where suicide prevention doesn’t extend to all people,” Hendry said. “This would be a moral failure, and a huge step backwards.”
The CEO of CARE had a concern that there were no safeguards in the legislation to rule out the coercion of vulnerable people and those allowing their deaths because “they feel like a burden or lack proper support.”
“There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ assisted suicide law,” Hendry pointed out. “Parliament does have a responsibility to build better support for those who are dying but not through this dangerous Bill.”
Hendry called for a national conversation to ensure excellent and universally accessible end-of-life and palliative care, alongside better support for marginalized groups.
“We would urge parliamentarians to focus on this positive endeavour, and dismiss the dangerous, and disproven campaign for assisted suicide,” he added.
Ciarán Kelly, director of The Christian Institute, said the vote had been “deeply disappointing” and called the approved Bill both dangerous and divisive. However, he insisted that the “fight is not over.”
“We know that the more people know about assisted suicide, the less they like it,” Kelly said in a press release. “Those MPs who supported the principle of the Bill but have concerns about its practical implications must now take the time to scrutinise it properly. They will find the promised safeguards are nothing more than a mirage.
“They will have a further opportunity to vote against the Bill before it clears the Commons and if it does go to the House of Lords, it is by no means guaranteed to pass there.
“I would urge Christians to keep on praying and to be ready to approach their MPs again over the coming months. This is a life and death issue. Now is not the time to give up.”
