by James Lewis, Premier
The Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken out against the assisted dying bill, warning it would show the state believed “some lives are not worth living” if passed.
Most Rev Sarah Mullally, writing in The Telegraph, said doctors should not be involved in ending the lives of patients.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill returns to the House of Commons on Friday, having been re-introduced after running out of time in the last parliamentary session. It would allow adults in England and Wales with six months or less to live the opportunity to seek an assisted death, subject to agreement with two doctors and an expert panel.
Archbishop Sarah said that her nursing and ministry experience “spent at bedsides alongside people as they cope with suffering and death”, informed by her Christian faith, underpins her view that the idea diminishes “the value of life” and “places vulnerable people at risk”.
Instead, the former chief nurse believes that focus should be on improving palliative and adult social care, as well as bringing down NHS waiting lists and addressing health inequalities.
Archbishop Sarah said: “Do we really want a society that involves healthcare professionals in the deliberate ending of lives, which offers death as though it were medical treatment? Are we creating a truly compassionate society if we endorse the view that some lives carry less value than others?