(OSV News) – British lawmakers voted on November 29 in Parliament to allow assisted suicide for cancer patients in England and Wales, despite opposition from bishops British Catholic and other religious groups.
After five hours of debate and some private time in the House of Commons, the parliamentarians passed the measure 330 to 275, marking their approval of the bill. The law will be reviewed before the final vote.
British, Welsh and Scottish bishops have urged opposition to the “Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill,” tabled by Kim Leadbeater from the Labor Party, which would allow medical aid to life-threatening for cancer patients over 18 years of age. expected to live no more than six months.
The law does not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In the joint statement of Nov. 14, the bishops said the information shows that “promised protections have been quickly forgotten,” saying the bill would “gravely harm” doctor-patient relationships and “drastically change the ethos of the trust and support.”
“In the discussion of assisted murder, much has been made of freedom of choice and freedom; but free will is not absolute and must always be left in the context of the common good,” said the bishops.
“We ask those who share our Catholic belief in human dignity and the sanctity of life, including fellow Christians, other religious people, and people of conscience and goodness, to join join us in protecting the weak and most vulnerable.”
A spokesperson for the bishops’ conference told OSV News that the message encouraged more parliamentarians to “contact their local bishops” about helping to kill people, and encouraged to “huge and justified anger” at the bill from disability groups.
Timothy Dieppe, head of public policy for the ecumenical group Christian Concern, predicted an election.
“Many members of Parliament, elected at this time, have to decide on a life-or-death issue that they have not thought about before,” said Dieppe, a theologian, who revealed the hope that the failure of the measure will be sent “and The strong signal throughout the world that contributed to the massacre is inevitable and not that is progress.
The measure, which overturns Britain’s 1961 Suicide Act, and rejects “major religious traditions and ethical codes,” Dieppe told OSV News in an interview before the vote.
Lord David Alton, a former Catholic preacher, said the public did not support the “fraudulent” bill and it was criticized by senior judges and medical professionals.
“When MPs finally rejected that legislation, they were given about two months to review it – now they have less than two weeks,” said Alton, who human rights advocate for OSV News before the election.
“With so many older people heading into winter with their fuel cut and palliative care services at risk, the government’s own health secretary has warned that a new threat is needed patients end their lives,” he said.
In a statement released on November 24, Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham were among nearly 30 religious leaders who expressed a number of views – including Jewish, Muslim, Coptic Orthodox, Hindu, Zoroastrian, evangelical, Greek Orthodox, Jainism, Sikh, Pentecostal and Assyrian Church – again demanded the rejection of the murder bill that helped done.
Seven European countries – Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland – currently allow assisted suicide, while the practice is allowed in 11 of the 50 American states. Austria, Finland, and Norway allow passive euthanasia under extreme circumstances.
An anti-killing aid bill was defeated by 330 votes to 118 in Britain’s lower house in September 2015, although an August poll showed public fears it could be strengthened. work to ease problems in the National Health Service.
An “Assisted Dying Bill” was rejected on October 1 by the Scottish government, which decided that it would be placed “outside the legislative competence” of the devolved parliament, although a motion supporting Leadbeater’s bill on October 23 in the Welsh Senedd.
The statement by British lawmakers on the approval of the assisted killing law was first reported on OSV News.