Joel Joffe: Faith drives opponents of assisted suicide, while most of the rest of us favour change

Posted by Kendall Harmon

It came as no surprise that there was the usual outcry against the interim report on prosecution in respect of cases of assisted suicide by the Director of Public Prosecutions. Headlines appeared saying, “Assisted suicide proposals ‘unacceptable in a civilised society’ — Roman Catholic bishops”, while last month a letter to The Times from Lord Mackay of Clashfern, et al, accused the policy of placing people at risk, and directed readers to the response of the alliance Care Not Killing (CNK).

The CNK is an organisation created to oppose assisted suicide. Its core members include the Church of England, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and most other faith-based organisations, all of which are implacably opposed to assisted suicide. The alliance demands that the policy be restructured using a provision in the code for crown prosecutors that says prosecution should take place unless public interest weighs against it. Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, in his judgment on the Debbie Purdy case, criticised the unhelpfulness of the code itself as any sort of guide in cases of assisted suicide.

The CNK’s response also makes no reference to public opinion. As Baroness Hale of Richmond said in her judgment: “The British public have consistently supported assisted dying for people with a painful or unbearable incurable disease from which they will die.” Meanwhile, a survey conducted by The Times in July found 74 per cent in support of assisted suicide for the terminally ill and only 23 per cent against.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • Health & Medicine • Law & Legal Issues • Life Ethics • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

7 Comments
Posted December 16, 2009 at 12:03 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. A Senior Priest wrote:

This is a hard question for me to answer… playing God is as much giving someone an aspirin, or withdrawing nutrition or water, or giving someone an injection of antibiotics.

December 16, 12:21 am | [comment link]
2. azusa wrote:

The British people have also consistently supported the death penalty and a referendum on the European Union.
Will they get their wish?
/tumbleweed

December 16, 1:22 am | [comment link]
3. rugbyplayingpriest wrote:

Why do we still equate majority vote with what is morally right? If all 74% of the public voted that incest was great it’s moral status would not shift one iota

December 16, 3:17 am | [comment link]
4. A Senior Priest wrote:

I doubt that 74% of any population would vote to support incest.

December 16, 9:38 am | [comment link]
5. Branford wrote:

“The British public have consistently supported assisted dying for people with a painful or unbearable incurable disease from which they will die.”

The problem is, even if you agreed with the statement above, there is no guarantee that “assisted dying” won’t become obligatory, or even mandatory, for the old or the sick (but not dying) because of medical costs. As soon as the stigma against doctors assisting in causing death is removed, then all options are open (just look at the Netherlands).

December 16, 10:19 am | [comment link]
6. upnorfjoel wrote:

#3 and 4, Rugby and Senior priests….
Never say never. 
“....as long as it’s a caring and loving, committed partnership.”
Who are we to deny them?

December 16, 5:37 pm | [comment link]
7. Terry Tee wrote:

I take it that Lord Joffe is Jewish.  I would be very surprised indeed if the UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks supported assisted suicide.  Orthodox Jews do not approve of euthanasia.  Lord Joffe does mention ‘faith-based organisations’ but makes it seem as if it those wicked Catholics and their Anglican friends who are the problem. 

I also note the comment beneath the article about someone’s mother dying in agony in a hospice.  Yet I have heard it said many times that good hospices have sophisticated pain control and dying in agony is rare.  Can any medical readers comment?

December 16, 7:35 pm | [comment link]
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