Assisted dying: The views of a Bishop’s Stortford vicar – and a High Wych villager with personal experience of ‘legalised euthanasia’
Terminally ill adults in England and Wales could be helped to end their lives “subject to safeguards and protections” as a new Bill was formally introduced in the House of Commons for the first time in almost a decade.
Campaigners on both sides of the controversial assisted dying debate gathered outside Parliament on Wednesday ahead of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill being brought before MPs by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater.
Opponents warn that introducing any form of legislation for assisted dying could lead to a “slippery slope” which widens the eligibility criteria, and there are fears the disabled could be especially vulnerable.
Confirmation of the Bill’s title led campaigners who feel the proposed law should cover those who might not be terminally ill but who are facing unbearable suffering to brand it a “bittersweet moment”.
The Bill will be debated and likely voted on on November 29. MPs will have a free vote in Parliament, deciding according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
The precise detail of the proposed legislation – setting out the circumstances which could lead someone to be eligible – is unlikely to be published until closer to that debate.
If the Bill clears its first hurdle at the end of November, it will face line-by-line examination in committee and further Commons votes before being sent to the Lords, where the process begins again, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.
It is possible that MPs could vote against it on November 29, as they did last time changes to the law were considered in 2015, preventing it going any further.
The vicar: ‘I don’t want to live in a country where these things might happen’
A heavy-hearted Rev Derwyn Williams, vicar of St Michael’s Church in Bishop’s Stortford, wrote in the Indie of October 9: “As a Christian I believe that every human life is sacred and precious, from its earliest beginning to its final end. And that for the state to adjudicate that some lives are ‘expendable’, and provide the means to terminate them, is a grave and worrying notion.
“But I know that many folk don’t share my faith convictions. And it’s important that this question is debated widely and thoughtfully. I truly hope that the Government won’t bring forward any change in the law without the widest possible consultation. So, may I ask you to ponder three questions:
1. The NHS – the Government has been telling us that the NHS is ‘broken’. Yet it’s possibly going to entrust it with the work of assessing the suitability of patients to die, and the duty to enable their deaths. Could something perhaps go wrong here?
2. The vulnerable – terminally ill people are often very anxious. Human wickedness looks for opportunities to exploit. Will ‘safeguards’ really prevent someone, somewhere, being coerced into ‘assisted dying’, if this practice becomes normalised?
3. The slippery slope – ‘assisted dying’ might begin here only for the terminally ill, within a probable six months of death. But in other countries where it has been allowed, the boundaries get wider and wider as time passes. Could the ‘right to die’ become the expectation to cease ‘being a burden’?
“I don’t want to live in a country where these things might happen. Can we all give some thought to whether, collectively, we really do?”
The villager: ‘My sister applied for legal euthanasia but was turned down’
Writing in this week’s Indie in response to Mr Williams, Theo van de Bilt, who lives in High Wych, said: “His assumption that it is the state that will ‘adjudicate that some lives are ‘expendable’... In all countries or areas that legalised euthanasia, that responsibility has actually been delegated.
“In the case of my old home country of the Netherlands, where euthanasia was legalised in 2002, it is delegated to at least two doctors who have to agree to a decision on the subject, so no adjudication is imposed from higher up.
“As for the questions to ponder, firstly the one concerning the NHS... Isn’t it the case that a lot of assisted dying is already taking place out of view of the general public? Why not make that practice legal?
“Regarding fears of coercion, I have a personal experience to share. One of my own sisters back in the Netherlands in the early 2000s did apply for legal euthanasia, but was turned down. She was, one could say, rather vulnerable at the time.
“The adjudicating doctors suggested she seek help and she ended up in a good care home, where she lived out her life in peace to finally die of natural causes in 2022.
“Finally, the slippery slope. Can I suggest that rather than talking about what might happen, we let our legislators make sure what will happen.
“I for one hope that Josh Dean, our MP, will vote for legislation with proper safeguards and proper respect for personal decision-making.”
Mr Dean wants to hear the views of Hertford and Stortford constituents on assisted dying ahead of the Commons vote on November 29.
He is holding engagement sessions in Stortford on Friday (October 18), between 11am and 1pm. Residents can book an appointment by emailing josh.dean.mp@parliament.uk.
“This is an opportunity to share your views on assisted dying in a face-to-face setting,” said Mr Dean. “However, residents are also very welcome to share their views with me by email, and I would encourage them to do so.”