London, England, Nov 29, 2024 / 12:20 pm (CNA).
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have expressed dismay after a historic vote today, Nov. 29, during which Members of Parliament (MPs) voted in favor of assisted suicide.
Following a five-hour, Second Reading debate in the House of Commons, 330 MPs voted in favor of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, while 275 voted against it.
While this does not mean that assisted suicide is now law in England and Wales, it does mean the Bill will now progress to the next legislative stage.
The last time MPs voted on the issue in 2015, the Bill was voted down at Second Reading and progressed no further.
Following the vote today, Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues, said that he hopes and prays the Bill might be rejected at a later stage in the legislative process.
In a statement released this afternoon, Sherrington said: “We are disappointed that MPs have voted in favor of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill progressing through Parliament. 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.”
Sherrington said that bishops were particularly concerned about a lack of protection for conscientious objection.
“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,” he said. “We ask that these voices be heard in the next stages of the Bill to strengthen the deep concerns about this proposed legislation.”
The Bill would allow assisted suicide for people aged 18 and over, who are terminally ill and have a prognosis of six months or less.
Sherrington went on to say that real compassion involves supporting people at the end of their lives.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Sherrington continued: “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.”
Meanwhile, pro-life campaigners have vowed not to give up.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said: “This is just the first stage of a long journey through the Commons and then the Lords for this dangerous assisted suicide Bill. We are now going to redouble our efforts to ensure we fight this Bill at every stage and ensure that it is defeated to protect the most vulnerable.”
“A very large number of MPs spoke out against this extreme proposal in Parliament today. They made it clear that this dangerous and extreme change to our laws would put the vulnerable at risk and see the ending of many lives through assisted suicide,” Robinson said.
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“Catholic bishops in UK express dismay…” Is “dismay” all the emotional reaction they could muster regarding legalized euthanasia? “Outrage” might be more appropriate.
And, could we stop with the euphemistic “assisted suicide” nonsense and call it what it is – euthanasia. It’s what you do to animals but in the case of humans it’s an assault on dignity.
I remember a Psychology professor at Manhattan College (when it was still recognizable as a Catholic college) in NYC in 1967 telling our class essentially this: If they ever legalize abortion (this was pre-Roe v Wade), you can be assured that the legalization of euthanasia will be next. How prophetic was that?
Dismay is okay as this is not a surprise in today’s throw-away world.
Pray for the conversion of the left and defeat of this atrocity.
I believe the evidence shows that the vast majority of these deaths are not suicide but euthanasia.
Why the continual reference to assisted suicide?
Suicide seems to assign the responsibility to the individual supposedly exercising autonomy.
Euthanasia (besides having unfortunate Nazi echoes) quite obviously attaches the responsibility to the needle-wielder.
Ah, yes. Let’s just go with suicide.
American media has been using the term “assisted dying” to, I suppose, sound more compassionate. So deceptive.
“I believe the evidence shows that the vast majority of these deaths are not suicide but euthanasia.”
What evidence, specifically? What right do you have to basically be accusing people of murder?
The decline of the West, and its descent into paganism/barbarism is here for everyone to see.
Yes Agnieska. And it began in earnest 1962-1965, lead by the Freemasonic Spirit of Vatican 2; the Church of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ was hijacked to further the cause of the One World Pagan anti-City. And Novos Ordo’s anti-Catholic self-destruct is spiralling down until humanly speaking the Catholic Church is lost.
Yea. We are in the ever growing grip of the lies of Satan, telling us that it is “kindness” to murder, from the unborn to those long ago born, for whatever reason, and it only makes me want to cry. “Assisted Suicide” is murder. And I don’t care what the supposed kindness or justifiable reason is, like abortion, it will grow like a cancer until it is long past any supposed original justification. For example, look what has happened in Canada, where “assisted suicide” is a recipe to not care for those who need the most care, nothing to do with “end of life”. All we have left is prayer, and the Prayer to St Michael comes to mind.
I hope that assisting in someone’s right to die when there are No options left, when every waking moment is filled with misery becomes a law in every state in the United States of America. Good work Great Britain.
There are always options available other than killing yourself. Always.
Ellen, palliative care is the solution to end of life, not a death shot more suited to say a dog. “Thou shalt not kill.”
Dear, dear Ellen. You are confused (at best). There is no ‘right to die.’
We cannot guarantee favorable outcomes of the debates on pro life in our highly secularized culture but we must DEMAND the right of conscientious objection for both individuals and groups who object to to this anti life ideology. We must make out very specific wills as to our beliefs , values and intentions. We must also establish our own medical and hospice centers where we can be assured of ethical treatment.
It’s not only the American media who are referring to “assisted dying”.
Here in Canada, we have “Medical Aid in Dying” or MAiD.
It sounds so gentle and compassionate, which is surely the deceptive point.
Flannery O ‘Connor said that in the absence of faith we govern through tenderness and tenderness leads to the gas chamber.
Athanasius above – Nov. 30, 10:05
We are agreed then that euthanasia is murder?