Tragically concerning news from the United Kingdom legalizing assisted suicide

 

Bishop calls British step to legalize suicide a ‘very bleak day’

By Charles Collins

Nov 30, 2024

LEICESTER, United Kingdom – After the British parliament voted in favor of a Bill to legalize assisted suicide, Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham said it would be “a devastating law.”

On Friday, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was approved by the Parliament by a vote of 330 in favor to 275 against. Although new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has supported legalizing assisted suicide, he offered members of parliament a “free vote” on the issue, and members of all the major parties were split on the issue.

The Bill passing is only the first stage in the House of Commons, and it will be months before it can be passed into law.

“This marks a very bleak day in our country’s history,” McKinney said.

“Let’s be totally clear about the situation we now face; presuming this Bill will eventually become law, somebody as young as 18 years old, who is seriously sick and who is judged to have less than six months to live, will be eligible for an assisted suicide on the NHS,” the bishop said in a statement.

“Based on the experience of other jurisdictions who have passed a similar law, I have no doubt that this is not merely about changing the law; we are about to witness a devastating shift in our culture and society. The fundamental principle that we do not involve ourselves in bringing about the deaths of others will be reserved for those who are strong and healthy, while people who are seriously ill and vulnerable will no longer be afforded such protection,” he added.

McKinney added given “the gravity of this bill,” he hopes and prays that there will be further opportunity during its passage for deep and critical reflection on the part of all of our society, “rather than this highly controversial proposal continuing to be rushed through.”

‍”In the meantime, I urge you to pray for the dying, pray for those who care for them, and pray especially for those people who may now be contemplating assisted suicide due to misplaced guilt or external coercion,” he said.

“May God protect them all, and may those who care for them – despite the prospect of such a devastating law – continue to offer the dying care and compassion and not a state-sanctioned lethal prescription,” the Nottingham bishop said.

Politicians endorsing the Bill claim it would have severe restrictions, limiting assisted suicide to those expected to die of illness within six months, and safeguards in place to protect patients.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are currently illegal under English, Welsh, and Northern Irish law and is considered manslaughter or murder. In Scotland, there is no specific legislation, but people can be prosecuted for murder if they are involved.

Lord David Alton of Liverpool, a Catholic member of the House of Lords, said he would have supported a Bill based on care for the disabled, but opposed a Bill “which focuses on the taking of life – which will endanger the lives of vulnerable people and lead to the incrementalism to which similar laws have led elsewhere.”

In a statement before the vote in the House of Commons, Alton said some of the Bill’s proposed “safeguards” are being called into question.

“One of Britain’s most eminent retired judges and former head of the High Court’s family division has slammed the assisted suicide Bill describing it as ‘defective’ and saying it is not the ‘proper function’ of a judge to rule on whether someone is eligible for assisted suicide,” he said.

“Senior medics have also pointed out the arbitrary and subjective nature of the Bill’s requirement that a patient have only six months left to live,” Alton added.

He noted research indicates that over half of patients expected to die within six months to a year outlive those expectations. Based on over 25,000 clinicians’ responses, the results showed that on 6,495 occasions when a doctor thought a patient would likely die at any point in the following 12 months, they were incorrect in more than 54 percent of cases.

Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said the Catholic leaders are “disappointed” on the passage of the Bill.

“We believe that this Bill is flawed in principle and also contains particular clauses that are of concern. We ask the Catholic community to pray that members of parliament will have the wisdom to reject this Bill at a later stage in its progress,” he said.

“In addition to being opposed to the principle of assisted suicide, we are particularly concerned with clauses in the Bill that prevent doctors from properly exercising conscientious objection, provide inadequate protection to hospices and care homes that do not wish to participate in assisted suicide and allow doctors to initiate conversations about assisted suicide,” Sherrington said.

He said the bishops’ conference is asking voices be heard about these “serious concerns” in the next stages of the Bill.

“We have expressed the view, during this debate, that genuine compassion involves walking with those who need care, especially during sickness, disability and old age. The vocation to care is at the heart of the lives of so many people who look after their loved ones and is the sign of a truly compassionate society. It is essential that we nurture and renew the innate call that many people have to compassionately care for others,” the bishop said.

“It remains the case that improving the quality and availability of palliative care offers the best pathway to reducing suffering at the end of life. We will continue to advocate for this and support those who work tirelessly to care for the dying in our hospices, hospitals and care homes,” Sherrington said.

Culture and politics just love to push assisted dying/suicide

 

Assisted dying bill in the UK is a 

‘slippery slope,’ cardinal says

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster is pictured in a May 19, 2022, photo. Cardinal Nichols has joined leading Catholic politicians and pro-life groups in calling on U.K. Catholics to take immediate and urgent action to oppose an assisted suicide bill that he says will strike "fear and trepidation" in vulnerable people. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

(OSV News) — Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has joined leading Catholic politicians and pro-life groups in calling on U.K. Catholics to take immediate and urgent action to oppose an assisted suicide bill that he says will strike “fear and trepidation” in vulnerable people.

Labour Member of Parliament Kim Leadbeater is proposing a bill that would give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to end their life. It will be introduced to the House of Commons Oct. 16, with a vote to take place Nov. 29.

The issue was last voted on in 2015, when MPs roundly rejected assisted suicide, with 118 votes for and 330 against.

In a pastoral letter to be read aloud in parishes in his London-based Diocese of Westminster Oct. 12-13, Cardinal Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said that “this proposed change in the law may be a source of relief to some. But it will bring great fear and trepidation to many, especially those who have vulnerabilities and those living with disabilities.”

Current U.K. law states that euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal, with those found guilty facing up to 14 years in prison. While the contents of the new bill are as yet unknown, it is believed that it will offer terminally ill adults with six months or less to live the option of ending their lives with medical assistance.

Leadbeater said that the proposed bill will only apply to adults who are suffering from terminal illnesses. “I’m really clear. This is about people who are terminally ill”, she told Sky News Oct. 3.

However, many expressed great concern when the British media reported that a group of 54 cross-party MPs are already calling for the assisted suicide bill to be applied to those who are “incurably suffering” as well as to those who are terminally ill.

Cardinal Nichols shared his own concerns about the reality of the “slippery slope” — a movement toward increasingly widening interpretations of the law, based on evidence from places across the world where assisted suicide has been legalized.

“The evidence from every single country in which such a law has been passed is clear,” he said. “That the circumstances in which the taking of a life is permitted are widened and widened, making assisted suicide and medical killing, or euthanasia, more and more available and accepted.”

Cardinal Nichols, who called for improved palliative care and hospice provision, urged Catholics to not stay silent on the issue, but to play an active part through prayer and discussions with family, friends and colleagues.

He also called on the faithful write to their MPs to express their opposition to the assisted suicide law. “Be careful what you wish for,” he warned. “The right to die can become a duty to die; being forgetful of God belittles our humanity.”

Cardinal Nichols pointed out that questions raised by the assisted suicide legislation strike at the heart of “how we understand ourselves, our lives, our humanity,” and underlined Catholic teaching on the human person. He said that “every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. That is the source of our dignity and it is unique to the human person. The suffering of a human being is not meaningless. It does not destroy that dignity.”

Assisted suicide has become a major issue in the U.K. after popular journalist and television presenter Esther Rantzen, who has terminal cancer, called for a vote on assisted suicide earlier this year. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who personally supports a change in the law, promised Rantzen that he would give MPs a free vote on the issue if he became prime minister, which happened when Labour won the general election July 4.

However, Catholic Lord David Alton, like Cardinal Nichols, warned Starmer that the “floodgates” will open, and vulnerable people will be at risk, if the law is passed in the same way as other jurisdictions.

“Before the U.K. Parliament opens the euthanasia floodgates,” he said, “it should first dispassionately consider outcomes in jurisdictions that have ditched protection of the vulnerable with ineffective safeguards. MPs should put their energy into better palliative care.”

One of the places Alton was referring to is the Netherlands, where euthanasia has been legal since 2002. Twenty-four confirmed cases of euthanasia have taken place where the individuals concerned were diagnosed with autism or having a learning disability.

In Canada, euthanasia and assisted suicide were legalized in 2016 on the condition that the death of applicants should be “reasonably foreseeable.” In 2021, this condition was repealed. With a provision to exclude those with mental illness due to expire earlier this year, in February lawmakers delayed expanding euthanasia and assisted suicide on the grounds of mental health alone to March 2027.

Lord Alton instead called for “more hospice care at home and an ethos which upholds human dignity and the sanctity of life.”

Cardinal Nichols also shared his worries “for all medical professionals,” warning that their roles will change profoundly, which he described as “a slow change from a duty to care to a duty to kill.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury will also urge Catholics at Oct. 13 Masses to resist moves in Parliament to legalize assisted suicide.

In a pastoral letter to be read out across the diocese, Bishop Davies will warn the faithful that a forthcoming Bill on “assisted dying” — an euphemism for assisted suicide or euthanasia — threatens “a momentous change to society in both its care and attitude to the sick and the aged,” the diocese said i an Oct. 11 statement.

In his letter, Bishop Davies predicts dire consequences if Parliament chooses a “dark and sinister path” toward a society in which the medical profession will be asked to assist in the killing of their patients.

“As we see populations ageing 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,” Bishop Davies wrote in a letter.

“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,” he said.

Andy Drozdziak writes for OSV News from Barnard Castle, England.

The Catholic Church stands firm against euthanasia, assisted suicide

 

Archbishop Paglia with Pope Francis at a private audience on August 8 

VATICAN

• PROTECTING LIFE
• MEDIA
• PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES
• INTERVIEW

Archbishop Paglia confirms Church’s opposition to euthanasia, assisted suicide

The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, reaffirms the Church’s opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide, in response to media reports about the "Small Lexicon on the End-of-Life.”

By Salvatore Cernuzio

The Church is absolutely opposed to assisted suicide and euthanasia and defends the right to life of every person, especially the most vulnerable, while fostering collaboration with politics on end-of-life issues.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, offered that clarification on a few points in the "Small Lexicon on the End-of-Life," an 88-page glossary published by the LEV (Vatican Publishing House) regarding ethical issues related to end-of-life debates ranging from euthanasia and assisted suicide to palliative care and cremation.

Published in early July, the pamphlet has recently come under scrutiny after some media outlets highlighted what they saw as "openings" by the Holy See.

In reality, Archbishop Paglia explained to Vatican News in the following interview, these are indications rooted in the last 70 years of papal and Church teaching.

On Thursday morning, the Archbishop delivered a copy of the "Lexicon" to Pope Francis, who received him in audience at the Apostolic Palace.

Q: Archbishop Paglia, today you met with the Pope and presented the “Small Lexicon on the End-of-Life.” What did Pope Francis, who has consistently advocated for the defense of life at all stages, say about it?

Pope Francis reiterated his appreciation for the work being carried out by the Pontifical Academy for Life. Indeed, the end-of-life issue is complex, and the Church has a rich Magisterium from Pius XII in 1957 to today.

Life must be defended throughout its entirety, not just at particular moments. The right to life must be especially defended, particularly for the weak, to counter the “throwaway culture” that hides behind the claim of self-sufficiency and autonomy of today’s men and women.

Q: There are claims that this vademecum represents a shift by the Holy See toward allowing the suspension of nutrition and hydration. Is this true?

I recall that Pius XII in 1956 – as noted in the Lexicon – affirmed the permissibility of suspending ventilation under certain serious conditions. And already in 2007, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recognized that such treatments could be lawfully discontinued (or not started) when they entail “excessive burden or significant physical discomfort.”

These are two criteria that are part of the definition of disproportionate treatments, which are to be suspended. It is an evaluation that always requires the involvement of the sick person, as much as is possible. The Lexicon should be read in its entirety.

Q: Does anything change regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide? Some media outlets have suggested that the Small Lexicon on the End-of-Life masks a favorable judgment on these issues.

The Church reiterates its absolute opposition to any form of euthanasia and assisted suicide. This is also my conviction, even if some want to make me say otherwise.

However, the Church also invites reflection on how unreasonable obstinacy (therapeutic stubbornness) is not an expression of truly patient-centered medicine and care. Death is unfortunately a dimension of life. It is inevitable.

Certainly, we must never shorten the duration of life, but neither should we stubbornly obstruct its course in every possible way. We are fragile. And this is why we must take care of one another.

We must commit ourselves much more than we normally do to accompany people in the final stages of their existence, knowing that for us believers, death is not the last word!

Q: The Lexicon talks about “legislative mediations.” What are considered acceptable?

There are no "acceptable mediations" a priori. On fundamental and delicate end-of-life issues, it is desirable to achieve the highest possible common consensus, which respectfully considers different sensitivities and religious beliefs. This is the task of politics.

The Church can collaborate for the common good of society. It is the Church's role to form consciences rather than to draft laws.

Pontifical Academy clarifies stance on assisted suicide

 

Accompaniment of the sick in the final phase of life 

VATICAN

• PROTECTING LIFE
• EUTHANASIA
• PONTIFICAL ACADEMIES

Archbishop Paglia clarifies stance on assisted suicide

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia reiterates his opposition to "euthanasia" and assisted suicide and clarifies remarks about the legal status of the practice in Italy.

By Christopher Wells

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has clarified earlier remarks concerning the legal status of medically assisted suicide in Italy, insisting that he fully adheres to the Church’s definitive magisterial teaching opposing the practice. 

“Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, in full conformity with the Church’s Magisterium, reaffirms his ‘No’ to euthanasia and assisted suicide.”

The clarification, in a statement issued by the Pontifical Academy, comes in response to “incorrect interpretations” of the Archbishop’s thoughts following a speech given by the PAV president last week in Perugia, Italy. In a speech devoted to the entire subject of end-of-life care, the Archbishop referenced the specific legal situation of assisted suicide in Italy.

Assisted suicide in Italy a crime

In 2019, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that in some cases and under certain conditions it is possible to request the indirect help of doctors to end one’s own life. Effectively, while assisted suicide remains a crime, it would no longer be penalized if specific conditions are met.

In his address last week, Archbishop Paglia explained that it is important that assisted suicide remain a crime in Italian law, which the Constitutional Court sentence recognizes. However, because the Court has asked Parliament to legislate concerning the issue, the Archbishop gave his opinion that a “legislative initiative” along the lines proposed by the Senate – maintaining medically-assisted suicide as a crime while de-penalizing it in certain circumstances – might be a possible solution to the legal question.

The statement from the PAV insists that any legal compromise would in no way involve a change in the moral stance towards assisted suicide.

No one left alone

The statement goes on to say that “any further elaboration is uncalled for,” stating, “On the scientific and cultural level, Archbishop Paglia has always supported the need for accompaniment of the sick in the final phase of life, using palliative care and loving personal attention, to ensure that no one is left to face alone the illness and suffering, and difficult decisions, that the end of life brings on.”

Assisted suicide is very much still a thing

 

CHURCH

• PROTECTING LIFE
• AUSTRIA
• BISHOPS' CONFERENCE

Austrian Bishops oppose legalization of assisted suicide

During their recent Fall General Assembly, Austrian Bishops have reiterated their strong opposition to a new assisted suicide bill which will take effect in 2022.

By Lisa Zengarini

On 22 October, the Austrian Government has submitted a draft law of a new law legalizing assisted suicide which is expected to be approved by Parliament by 31 December 2021 and to take effect in January 2022.

Constitutional Court's ruling

The new legislation is being introduced following a ruling by the Austrian Constitutional Court (“Verfassungsgerichtshof – VfGH”), which in 2020 decreed that the prohibition of assisted suicide is unconstitutional as it infringes the individual right to self-determination (“individuelles Selbstbestimmungsrecht”) and the right to die with dignity (“menschenwürdiges Sterben”).

The proposed law

According to the proposed text, assisted suicide will be possible in the future for chronically or terminally ill adults, providing they consult two doctors who have to attest the person is capable of making his or her own decisions.

If there are any doubts, a psychologist should also be consulted. At the same time, the network of palliative centers will be expanded.

Bishops opposed to 'killing on request'

Over the past months, Austrian Bishops have repeatedly opposed legalization of assisted suicide and discussed the proposed law during their recent plenary, calling for a constitutional ban on 'Killing on request' ('Tötung auf Verlangen') and for adequate financial resources ensuring the legal right to access palliative care.

Unacceptable flaws 

In the press conference closing the Assembly, the president of the Austrian Bishops, Archbishop Franz Lackner, warned on the grave consequences of legalizing assisted suicide in Austria, noting that the new legislation - which is ostensibly intended to prevent abuse – presents "unacceptable flaws".

He also remarked that in countries where euthanasia has become legal it has become common practice.

“In a very short time the exceptional case becomes a socially accepted normality and exemption from punishment an enforceable right,” he said.

Archbishop Lackner explained that to prevent this from happening in Austria, the Bishops' Conference has participated in the discussion of the law, “obviously not to condone assisted suicide, but to uphold bishops’ commitment to protecting life."

Trivialization of assisted suicide 

Among the shortcomings of the drafted law, the prelate highlighted the fact that it hasn’t provided for a twelve-week period of reflection following the assessment by the two doctors, which increases the risk that vulnerable people may be pressured into asking for assisted suicide.

Also, applicants for assisted suicide are not automatically assessed by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist, but only by two doctors. As formulated the law makes therefore assisted suicide a trivial medical prescription, as it is virtually not prosecutable, contrary to the requirements established by the Constitutional Court, Archchbishop Lackner pointed out.

"Any other form of assistance to any type of suicide, on the other hand, would be exempt from punishment," he added.

Dying with 'dignity'

According to the Austrian Bishops, the legalization of assisted suicide is part of a “cultural trend  by which the only form of life worth living is a full and active life, a life ‘of doing’ where consequently every handicap or disease is seen as a failure that cannot be tolerated.”

The Bishops also remarked the manipulative nature of the words “dying with dignity”.

"This manipulative discourse not only ignores the fact that every suicide remains a human tragedy, but is also unfair toward all those people who make it possible to die with dignity through reliable and attentive care and who will continue in the future,” he said.

Vatican affirms euthanasia and assisted suicide are intrinsic evils

Copyright; Catholic News Service, courtesy of Vatican Media

FEATURE: ‘Even If Nothing Can Be Done Medically, One Can Stay’ – CDF Prefect, Cardinal Ladaria Tells ZENIT

As New Pope-Approved Letter Condemns Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide, & Calls Always for Care & Closeness, Prelate Warns Against Others Stating Otherwise

September 22, 2020 12:00Deborah Castellano LubovDocuments

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Even if nothing further can be done medically for someone, Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer says that is no reason to not continue to care for them.

This is was what the Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, expressed to ZENIT during the press conference on the CDF’s new letter “Samaritanus bonus: on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life,” held with accredited journalists in the Holy See Press Office today, Sept. 22, 2020.

The new letter, approved by Pope Francis on June 25, 2020, who called for it to be published, condemns euthanasia and assisted suicide, and calls for protecting and preserving life, regardless of how fragile or compromised it may seem.

“Even if someone is not cannot  be ‘cured’ medically, they ought to always be cared for,” until the end, he underscored.

Speaking along with Cardinal Ladaria, were Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, secretary of the same Congregation; Professor Gabriella Gambino, under-secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life; Professor Adriano Pessina, member of the Directorate of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Addressing Cardinal Ladaria, ZENIT English acknowledged that the document was very concrete and timely, inquiring as to how the Vatican wishes for it to reach society as a whole.

“This hope [that the letter reaches society at large and relevant actors] is always there, because if it were not, the letter would not have been written,” the CDF Prefect said.

“We think, and believe the Holy Father thinks, having given the authorization to publish this letter,” he said, “that deep in every person, there is this deep desire for closeness of ‘the other,’ and when one forgets this, it means that some part of humanity goes away. No?”

“For this to arrive at the conscience of everyone,” Cardinal Ladaria said, “will of course depend on us and on all Catholics worldwide, especially those involved in healthcare, of the people who have the most direct contact with the ill.” Personally, he explained, he believes this hope is there “because there is a hope in the goodness of man, and that this is found in each one of us.”

The Jesuit Cardinal warned against when at times someone is unconscious and others try to pressure one into making life or death decisions. “They tempt us, look this is very serious, they may say.”

In this sense, he underscored, it is even more imperative, that we remain close to humanity and those suffering.

“And for me it is very important, as all my fellow colleagues here highlighted and spoke a lot about, namely: The scene of the Cross”

“In many moments, one cannot do anything from the practical point of view, but one can stay,” he underscored.

Therefore, he elaborated, one thing is the possibility to heal and another thing is to care, “caring which could be from medical point of view, but also from spiritual point of view, psychological point of view, or from the point of view of just being close.”

Therefore this hope that the letter’s message circulates to relevant actors, he acknowledged, exists.

How its diffusion coming to fruition will happen, “I am not a prophet,” he said smiling.

As usual, the Press Office took each masked journalist’s temperature upon entry, gave sanitizer, and had set channels to enter and leave the hall. Vatican-accredited press (and Press Office personnel) needed to wear masks and sit in designated, socially distant seats.