Church leaders in Scotland have appealed to the Scottish Parliament to vote against a controversial assisted suicide bill, arguing that it “touches one of the most important moral questions of our time”.
The bill is a separate piece of legislation to that being considered by the House of Lords in Westminster. Last week, Right to Life CEO, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, said the Westminster bill was effectively “dead” after scrutiny found it to be neither “safe or workable”. However, the Scottish bill, which is much the same, may slip through in what is expected to be a very close final vote.
In an open letter, the representatives of the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church in Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, the United Free Church of Scotland, The Salvation Army in Scotland, the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and the Apostolic Church, all signalled their opposition to the passage of the bill.
While acknowledging the desire to limit human suffering, the letter warned that the bill would put vulnerable people at risk of being coerced into suicide. Rather than committing resources to terminating life, palliative care should be improved for all, the letter argues.
“True compassion does not mean helping someone to die, but committing ourselves to care for them in life," the Churches said.
Pointing to examples in Canada and Australia where it is already legal, the church leaders noted that concerns that eligibility would be expanded and safeguards discarded were in fact reflected in reality. Concern that incidents of “coercion and misuse” may have occurred in these jurisdictions have also arisen.
The letter contained a direct appeal to members of the Scottish Parliament.
“We urge you, therefore, to stand for the equal worth and dignity of every human life, and to vote against this legislation at Stage 3. A truly compassionate society accompanies those who suffer; it does not abandon them to an early death," they said.
A debate on amendments to the bill is expected to take place on 10 March, followed by a final vote on 17 March.
