Methodists Stand in Line with Churches against Euthanasia

The Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill in Britain is being criticised by local Christian and Catholic Churches. A week ago, the Church of England House of Bishops and the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales described the bill as “misguided” and “unnecessary”. Recently, the Methodist Church of Great Britain has also made its written response to the House of the Lords Select Commmittee on Assisted Dying to retain its opposition to any forms of Euthanasia.

Echoing the voice of the bishops from both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, the main argument behind the opposition of the bill is the respect towards the dignity of human life no matter in what condition it is.

The Methodist Church response stated, “The Christian tradition insists on infinite respect owed to every individual human being. This respect is not proportional to their level of well-being, nor to any assessment of how seriously ill, injured or disabled they are.”

Just as the bishops from the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church said, “What terminally ill people need is to be cared for, not to be killed. They need excellent palliative care including proper and effective regimes for pain relief. They need to be treated with the compassion and respect that this Bill would put gravely at risk.”

The complex discussion regarding Assisted Dying or Euthanasia in fact originated among Methodists in 1993, and currently the Methodist Church has shown itself to have the following concerns for the legalisation of the bill:

- the bill may not give sufficient opportunity for a patient to change their mind in situations that were not accurately foreseen

- it may not have sufficient safeguards to inhibit the desired medical action or inaction before a distressing situation goes into remission

- vulnerable people may be exposed to undue pressure in making up their decision to receive Assisted Dying

- there is no way that can cover all conceivable circumstances to which a patient may experience.

On the other hand, in the written response, the Methodist Church mentioned that it recognises the moral complexities found in some situations, even if euthanasia is not legalised, and that this does not lessen the complex moral problems integral to the final stages of some terminal illnesses.

The Church appreciates parts of the Bill that state that assisted dying could only be requested due to the current condition of the person seeking such a process, and that any individual seeking assisted dying would have to be judged competent. However, the Church urges for better controls and guidelines in the Bill to protect vulnerable people, ensuring that they themselves are able to make appropriate choices.

Anthea Cox, Co-ordinating Secretary for Public Life and Social Justice, thanked the Select Committee for its invitation to respond to the Bill. The Methodist Church says it will “continue to engage its members in this debate, recognising that there are some divergent views within the membership.”