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A bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales was formally introduced in the House of Commons on 16 October, and MPs will hold their first debate on 29 November, followed by a free vote, where MPs can vote according to individual conscience.

The subject has gained considerable attention in the UK in recent months, following an announcement by broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen that she had lung cancer and had joined Dignitas, the assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.

One of the first to comment was former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, who as a member of the House of Lords said he would support the bill “because it is necessary, compassionate and principled”. He notes, however, that, while in his view, the vast majority of Anglicans favoured the change, the Church’s leadership does not.

According to the Guardian newspaper, opinion polls show support for assisted dying among churchgoers is roughly in line with the general population, with some 65%-75% supporting a change in the law, and more than a third of C of E priests backed assisted dying.

Dr Carey said the opposition of many faith leaders was “largely based on fear: of a slippery slope; or that some relatives will coerce vulnerable people”. “My response”, he said, “is that we must have a strong law that resists abuse.”

Read the Guardian article here.

But on the other side of the argument, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, has urged the people in his diocese to ask their MPs to vote against the bill, warning them that the ideology behind the proposed change is comparable to Nazism! In a pastoral letter called Thou Shalt Not Kill, he said assisted suicide was gravely immoral, an offence against God, and “evil masquerading as kindness”.  “If we yield to this and permit killing”, he said, “we will cross a line from which there is no return: ..like using nuclear weapons, once deployed, it’s too late – there’s only escalation.”

See the story in the Catholic Herald here.

At the same time, traditionally Catholic country, Ireland, voted in its parliament last week to “note” the final report of their Joint Oireachtas Committee on Assisted Dying that calls on the government to legalise assisted dying in certain restricted circumstances. At this stage their vote does not represent a decision on the issue of assisted dying itself, but that the report, recommending assisted dying, be taken into consideration.

Read this story in the Catholic Herald here.