A Matter of Life, Dignity and Compassion
Once again the issue concerning the right to die has come to parliament with MPs voting against legalising assisted dying in England and Wales. The Terminally ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was defeated by 286 votes to 270, meaning the existing law remains unchanged.
The proposed legislation would have allowed terminally ill adults, judged to have six months or less to live, to seek medical assistance to end their lives under specified safeguards.
Supporters argued that the law would have given dying people greater choice and protected them from unbearable suffering. Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, described the result as a “tragic day” but states that she remains convinced that the law will eventually change, although she fears reform will come too late for many terminally ill people.
Opponents expressed relief but did not treat the result as a cause for celebration. Some MPs described the proposed legislation as “unsafe and unworkable”. Concerns included the difficulty of accurately predicting whether someone has six months to live, the risk of pressure being placed upon vulnerable people and the condition of Britain’s social and palliative-care services.
The Bible commands society to protect those weakened by illness, poverty or dependence:
“Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.”
Psalm 82:3 (KJV)
This principle has two sides. Compassion cannot mean ignoring severe pain or abandoning families facing terminal illness. However, compassion must also include protecting life, providing high-quality palliative care and ensuring that nobody chooses death because proper support is unavailable or because they believe they have become a burden.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally warned before the vote that changing the law could communicate that “some lives are not worth living”. That concern must be taken seriously, particularly where disabled, elderly or terminally ill people already experience inequality or inadequate care.
The rejection of the bill does not settle the moral debate. It places an even greater responsibility upon the Government and Parliament to improve hospice funding, pain relief, mental-health provision, social care and practical assistance for families.
A humane society should do more than decide whether people may choose death. It must ensure that every person approaching the end of life is supported, valued and cared for with dignity.
