{"id":6956,"date":"2014-07-16T20:18:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-16T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/faith-leaders-join-in-condemnation-of-uk-assisted-dying-bill-14803\/"},"modified":"2014-07-16T20:18:00","modified_gmt":"2014-07-16T20:18:00","slug":"faith-leaders-join-in-condemnation-of-uk-assisted-dying-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2014\/07\/faith-leaders-join-in-condemnation-of-uk-assisted-dying-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith leaders join in condemnation of UK assisted dying bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Rome, Italy, Jul 16, 2014 \/ 02:18 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Various religious leaders have joined their voices to denounce a bill seeking to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill in parts of the U.K., stating that doing so violates human dignity and opens the door to coercion.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEvery human life is of intrinsic value and ought to be affirmed and cherished. This is central to our laws and our social relationships; to undermine this in any way would be a grave error,\u201d said a July 16 joint statement signed by the leaders.<\/p>\n

\tThe proposed bill would change the laws in England and Wales, which presently punish assisted suicide by up to 14 years in prison. Introduced by Lord Falconer, a peer with the Labour Party, the legislation would allow doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to seriously ill patients who request them and who are believed to have less than six months to live.<\/p>\n

\tHaving its first reading in the House of Lords June 5, the bill\u2019s principles will be debated, and perhaps voted on, for the first time when it receives its second reading on July 18.<\/p>\n

\tIn a joint statement, a variety of religious figures expressed their fear that the bill \u201cwould have a serious detrimental effect on the wellbeing of individuals and on the nature and shape of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe statement was signed by 24 leaders of different faith traditions, including Catholic Cardinal Vincent Nichols, a Jewish Rabbi, an official of Britain\u2019s Hindu Forum and a Muslim.<\/p>\n

\tActively assisting in ending the life of another does not lead to \u201ca compassionate and caring society,\u201d they observed, stating that those who are vulnerable \u201cmust be cared for and protected,\u201d even if others must make sacrifices.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEach year many thousands of elderly and vulnerable people suffer abuse; sadly, often at the hands of their families or carers,\u201d and are \u201cperceived as a burden or as a financial drain,\u201d they noted, stating that this \u201cterrible affliction\u201d often leads many \u201cto passivity, depression and self-loathing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe desire to end one\u2019s life may, at any stage of life, be prompted by depression or external pressure; any suggestion of a presumption that such a decision is \u2018rational\u2019 does not do justice to the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tGoing on, the faith leaders voiced concern that the bill would increase pressure to the vulnerable and terminally ill, which would then enhance the risk \u201cof distress and coercion at a time when they most require love and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tCiting \u201cserious lapses of trust\u201d that have happened within the country\u2019s National Health Service regarding caregivers, the faith leaders argued that legalizing the bill would only increase the chances of abuse.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt is na\u00efve to believe that, if assisted suicide were to be legalized, proposed safeguards would not similarly be breached with the most disastrous of consequences, by their nature irrevocable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tQuestioning what sort of society they would like to become, the signatories encouraged individuals to foster a society \u201cin which every person is supported, protected and cherished even if, at times, they fail to cherish themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe faith leaders then called for increased access to better quality palliative care, as well as greater support for those who assist the terminally ill.<\/p>\n

\tThese things, they explained, \u201cwill be among the hallmarks of a truly compassionate society and it is to those ends that our energies ought to be harnessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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